Running For Dead
by dust.ice.fire
Summary: Elliot was running from her past, from Michael, from her curse. She was running because she had nothing left to lose, until she winds up in Bon Temps and catches the unwanted interest of Eric Northman. It may be that she's found a reason to stop running, but will that be enough to keep her there when an old enemy reappears and turns everything upside down? Strong language, Eric/OC
1. Things That Are Lost

__**Author's Note: Before I begin I feel like I should explain a few things. When this takes place isn't hugely set in stone (though that may change in later chapters) but for now just assume it's around the same time as season 2-3. Eric is not in love with Sookie, though he does believe that she could be useful. I don't own anything you recognise and I hope you enjoy my ramblings. Let me know what you think!**

_Thsi s so gresz luv yyuooo_

Elliot's eyebrows descended into a frown as she spent a few seconds deciphering the text. It was typical Morgan to do that, right as Elliot was settling down with a good old fashioned horror movie and a tub of ice cream. With a sigh, the young woman unfolded herself from the sofa, planting the tub on the table; hopefully by the time she got back it would have softened enough to be eatable. As she grabbed her keys and headed out the door, she hit dial on the phone and lifted it to her ear. The call was answered fairly quickly and Elliot's tone betrayed her annoyance.

"Where are you?"

"Elliot!" The slur in Morgan's voice was horribly pronounced and the brunette rolled her eyes, though she backed hurriedly out of the driveway; it was never good to leave her friend to her own devices when she had that much in her – Elliot knew that even after only a month of knowing her. "I love you! This place is so great, right, you should come over!" She gave a small hiccough and Elliot heard the sound of something crashing over the thumping music in the background.

"What was that?"

"It's nothiiiiing," Morgan cooed happily down the phone, a few other bumps following her words.

"_Is everything alright, gorgeous_?"

At the male voice Elliot immediately snapped to attention, pressing her foot into the gas, despite the fact that she didn't even know where Morgan was; for all she knew she was heading in the exact opposite direction to the one she needed. "Who was that?" she snapped, worried. "Who's that bloke in the background?"

"I'm fine, just fine," Morgan was saying, obviously no longer listening to the friend on the phone.

"_Who's on the phone_?"

"She's a friend." Morgan's voice was horribly vague; Elliot could just imagine the look of unaware bliss that would be plastered over the blonde's face. She was probably flat out on the floor, some creep leaning over her with his hand up her skirt.

"I'm coming to get her, don't you _dare_ touch her!" Elliot's voice was a yell, expression panicked. "Where the hell are you?"

"Fangtasia, sweetness_,_" the guy said, right into the phone. Elliot's grip on the device tightened as she frowned. She'd never heard of Fangtasia before, though it sounded like exactly the sort of place she tried to avoid; with a name like that there was no doubting that it was some sort of vampire hang out. What the _hell_ Morgan was doing there was a question that would have to wait for now. "Come on down and I'll show you and your friend here a good time."

"Fuck you," Elliot shot back, blood boiling beneath her pale skin as her words were met with a chuckle. "Where the fuck is Fangtasia?"

"Shreveport. Hurry; if you don't get here soon I'll just have to satisfy myself with...what was your name?"

"_Morgan_," the voice came, more slurred than ever; Elliot's heart began pounding furiously.

"If you touch her-" she began, sounding a lot braver than she felt as she turned the car to head for Shreveport.

"Relax," the man replied, the easy smile he was wearing audible in his tone. "I'll wait for you." And with that he hung up, apparently under the impression that Elliot was on her way to have sex with the creep. She let out a small yell of frustration, pounding a hand against the steering wheel and inadvertently setting off the horn. _Shit_. Elliot sucked in a quick breath; she needed to calm down.

It didn't take too long to reach Shreveport, though it was longer than Elliot would have liked, and the first person she asked was most helpful in giving her directions to the club in question, though they were delivered with something of a disgusted look that the brunette behind the wheel decided to ignore. She shrieked into the parking lot, skidding to a halt and throwing the door open before she'd even killed the ignition.

"ID?" The woman at the door, unmistakeably a vampire, asked boredly, looking Elliot up and down as the latter scuffled in a pocket for her licence, waving it in the woman's face before charging past. "Go on in," the vampire muttered sarcastically, glancing after her.

The inside of Fangtasia made Elliot instantly uncomfortable, serving to remind her exactly why she avoided places like these. There were sweaty bodies every way she looked, grinding up against each other or glued at the face to other bodies. There were more vampires littered around than she'd ever seen in her life and her skin broke out in goosebumps at the looks some of them gave her; predatory, lustful ones that raked from head to toe. Suddenly, her heartbeat felt horribly obvious as the blood pumped beneath a thin layer of skin and Elliot hunched her shoulders, pulling the worn leather jacket more closely around her frame.

"Where the hell are you?" she mumbled to herself, looking around with frantic eyes. Morgan wasn't anywhere obvious; not on one of the dancing stages, nor at the bar, nor in the toilets, and Elliot was dialling the number to call her when a familiar flash of blonde hair caught her attention. Morgan was up on a dais that Elliot wasn't sure how she'd missed before, sitting at the feet of the blond vampire atop the throne in the middle of it, looking only vaguely interested as her friend offered herself to him.

Swearing furiously under her breath, Elliot began forcing her way through the crowd, gritting her teeth as hands found their way to places on her body she'd rather they not; much as she'd like to turn around and punch the creeps in the face, Morgan had to take priority. Particularly as the blond vampire had started to pay a little more attention to her now.

"Morgan!" she gasped upon finally breaking through the crowd. A couple of people turned to look at her, thinking she was about to offer herself to the arrogant-looking git on the throne and wondering how he'd react, but Elliot didn't even spare him a glance. "Come on, time to go." Wrapping her arms around the blonde's waist, Elliot heaved her to her feet and pulled the weight against her hips so she wouldn't fall over with it.

"Elliot? What? _No_, I wanna stay _here_ – look he's a _god_ he's gonna...he's gonna _drink_ from me," Morgan breathed, alcohol stained breath making Elliot feel slightly dizzy. She cringed at the memories it summoned, pushing them roughly way; now was not the time to be thinking about Michael.

"Well I'm sure the vampire will manage," she muttered, taking a difficult step with the added load (which was made no easier as Morgan, drunk as she was, planted her feet firmly on the ground).

"Maybe he won't," a smooth voice spoke from in front of them and Elliot pulled up, staggering with Morgan's weight as the blonde let out a giggle and allowed her knees to give way slightly.

"_Uugh_," Elliot groaned, taken by surprise before she straightened her spine, struggling to keep Morgan by her side as she leaned towards the vampire. "Sorry," the brunette directed at him, glancing up into his face. Christ he was tall; it _definitely_ didn't do anything to lessen the utterly terrifying image he somehow presented, despite being dressed quite normally. In fact he was wearing much the same clothes as Elliot herself; jeans, a t-shirt and a leather jacket. "I'm sure you'll find someone else willing to open their...uh..." She'd been about to say _legs_ but she supposed it was a little different when the guy in question was after blood. "Wrists," Elliot finished lamely, making a face. "We have to go."

She moved to take another step but very suddenly a cold hand had her arm in a vice-like grip and the vampire was smiling in a perfectly threatening way. "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear," he started, making it quite obvious that he felt this was not the case. "I would very much like for you to offer me your wrist." These last words were spoken very clearly and in a voice that was several notes deeper than the one he'd used just now. Elliot blinked, pulling her gaze away from eyes bluer than the Greek ocean.

"Oh, well, that settles it then," she said sarcastically. "Guess I'll just become a fangbanger since you've made such a convincing argument." Elliot rolled her eyes and tugged on Morgan. _Honestly_, who did these vampires think they were? Did he genuinely think that just because he'd told her he'd _like_ some damn blood she was going to fall at his feet and offer it? This time, the vampire let them go, though Elliot felt something brush against her butt. Deciding to ignore that, she headed very determinedly for the exit, already exhausted from carting Morgan, who was becoming more of a dead weight with every step.

They paused outside so Morgan could throw her guts up in a bush while Elliot waited patiently, leaning against the wall and lighting a cigarette as her friend groaned. "Serves you right," she said dispassionately, flicking the match away. "We had an agreement – no guys for like, a _year_." Not after the disastrous relationships the two of them had both found themselves in of late; Elliot still bore the scars of her months with Michael, a particular brand of arse-hole the depths of hell were reserved for. As such, neither of them noticed as the vampire who'd been on the entrance disappeared inside, and they didn't hear a word of the conversation that passed between her and the blond vampire who was now sitting on his throne, twirling Elliot's ID through his fingers.

**Author's Note: So there you have it, the first chapter. I'm not entirely sure where this is going so if you have any ideas or if there's anything you'd like to see, let me know and I'll do my best to accomodate. Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Secret's Out  Already

Elliot didn't realise her ID was missing until several days later, but when she did she thought nothing of it; she lost things all the time and they always showed up. Admittedly, the licence was quite important and probably wasn't the sort of thing she ought to make a habit of losing, but she didn't fret. Instead she made a point of driving carefully and shuffling through the piles of paper on her desk every time she passed, hoping that it had magically appeared there in the last hour. It never did, of course, because it was residing in the back pocket of one Eric Northman, to be pulled out occasionally as the vampire looked over it again despite having memorised everything on it the same night he'd taken the thing.

The days passed as they usually did, with Elliot sitting blankly at her desk, staring into space and wondering what she was supposed to do. She'd lost everything in so short a time and it had left her hollow inside, though she somehow had to keep on. Morgan was all she had, but Elliot had known the blonde for only a little over a month, having met her when she moved to Bon Temps. Once upon a time she'd had everything; a loving family, a boyfriend, a home – a future. It had all disappeared so suddenly sometimes she still allowed herself to hope it was a dream.

Elliot shook her head; she didn't want to think of her past. It was gone, left far behind in the dust she'd kicked up as she ran. And she'd never ran so far in her life, stopping only when she'd found the sleepiest, most boring looking town she thought she'd ever find and scraped the small inheritance she'd been left together in order to buy a tiny house there.

The house itself was pleasant enough; mostly unfurnished, but open and bright and homely. It was small, but Elliot was the only one living there so it hardly mattered. She spent most of her time either lying on the creaky old bed that had come with the place or slumped at her desk. She needed to write; she couldn't live off savings and what her parents had been able to leave her forever. Soon she'd have to find a way of earning, so she could buy food that she wouldn't eat and pay bills she didn't care for.

The girl sighed, rolling off the sofa to land on the floor where she lay staring at the ceiling. She hated when these moods came over her; sometimes they lasted merely hours but some of them went on for weeks and she never knew how she held on. They'd gotten progressively worse of late, dating back to when Michael had first grown violent and peaking at the point of her parents' death. It had been the haul out of that one that had spurred the young woman into a new life, that had pushed her into running away. For months she'd entertained the fantasy of escaping Michael and his brutal ways but she'd never managed to do it. Losing her parents had given her all the incentive she needed and Elliot had ran before she could have a second thought.

Blue eyes closed; she wished she could just drift away and never come back. How sweet would it feel to just fall asleep and never have to face that moment of waking up again? Elliot wasn't suicidal, not by a long shot; she wanted to survive, that had been the whole point in running, but sometimes living took so much effort. Sometimes it just hurt so much she wasn't sure if it was worth it.

Then came the knock on the door. At once, Elliot's heart began hammering and her blood ran cold. It was Michael, it had to be Michael; nobody knew where she lived, even Morgan was not yet privy to that information. He'd found her, he'd found her already, had tracked her here and he was going to take her and she'd never be able to get out again. Her breath caught, hitching as the brunette pulled herself into a sitting position, eyes wide with horror. The back door; that was her only chance. She had to get out, she couldn't go back to him. Something cracked behind her and she drew in a deep breath; she needed to calm down.

Standing quickly, Elliot forced her shaky legs to carry her through the kitchen as another, more insistent, knock rang out. Fumbling at the bolt, she pulled it back and braced herself to run when a voice sounded.

"I can hear you in there," it called, oddly familiar but certainly not Michael. "I have something of yours."

Pausing, Elliot considered the options. Nobody knew her here except Morgan and the blonde was away for the week on some sort of work trip. She didn't know the neighbours yet but she'd been told by the estate agent that the town was friendly; maybe it was one of them coming to introduce themselves? It was a bit late, though; the sun had sunk below the horizon at least an hour ago. But whoever it was, it wasn't Michael, and that was enough for Elliot to lock the back door once again.

"I'm coming – hold on a sec," she said, grabbing her jacket from where it hung over the back of a chair and pulling it on; she was only wearing a small vest beneath and she didn't want to scare the neighbours away just yet. Wandering towards the front door while pulling it around her, Elliot opened it with a curious expression. Her eyes widened with shock; standing on her porch, looking for all the world like this was normal, was the blond vampire from the weird bar Morgan had ended up at.

"It's customary to say hello," he told her after a few seconds, looking faintly amused. "But I'll settle for a blank look. Though you may want to close your mouth."

Elliot did so, annoyed, and her dumbstruck expression became one of suspicion. "What've you done to Morgan?" she asked roughly, fingers tightening around the door in case she needed to slam it on him.

"Morgan?" he asked, taking his own turn at a blank expression.

"Yes, _Morgan_ – blonde hair, really pretty? She was all over you last week. I swear, if you've..._eaten_ her or something..." Elliot wasn't sure how to end that sentence and so didn't, merely taking a quick step back as the vampire was suddenly standing right on the edge of the door, fangs out and eyes cold.

"Vampires don't _eat_ people," he told her acidly. "And I don't take kindly to threats, Miss Sanderson; you would do well to remember it."

"Wha-How do you know my name?" Elliot's eyes narrowed. "And I didn't threaten you," she added, growing bold as anger stirred within her. "I simply said-"

"I haven't touched this...Morgan," the vampire cut her off, head jerking as his fangs retracted. Elliot relaxed a tiny bit once they had disappeared, though she kept her grip tight on the door. "Like I said, I came to return something to you." He withdrew from his pocket a small card that Elliot recognised and she let out a tiny breath of surprise.

"My licence! I've been looking for that." She reached out a hand to retrieve it from him but her fingers had barely brushed the plastic when the man's fingers had closed around her wrist and yanked her out onto the porch. Elliot threw herself backwards at once to get away, panic rushing through her as Michael's face ran across her mind, the memory of fists recalled strongly. The vampire held on with a terrifying strength and Elliot simply stiffened, eyes closed, breathing quickly. Her body was tense as she waited, wondering where the blow would land.

"Invite me in," the vampire commanded, frowning at her, though the expression was unseen to the girl who still had her eyes closed.

Elliot didn't reply, keeping her mouth firmly shut and her back straight. She didn't give in; she wouldn't. She never made a sound when Michael started; she wouldn't give him the satisfaction and it was an ingrained habit – when times grew hard, Elliot shut down; it was safer that way. The vampire's grip loosened a little and she felt him lean down so he was more at her level, though she still didn't open her eyes.

"You need to invite me in," he said in a voice a little softer than before, a voice that now sounded curious as well as authoritative. "I wish to speak with you and I'd rather not do it out here."

Slowly, Elliot opened her eyes, though her body remained stiffly ready for any attack. "Why-" She fell suddenly silent as headlights flashed at the end of the drive and her skin paled considerably. "Come in!" she gasped, falling back through the door herself and slamming it shut. Her heart was hammering painfully again but the car passed on; it wasn't Michael.

Suddenly feeling ill, Elliot leaned against the door frame and ordered her body to stop shaking, though it didn't obey. A tiny moan caused her to glance around, noticing that the vampire was staring at her, head tipped back a little as he pulled in a deep breath. "You smell..._delicious_," he smiled, fangs flashing into existence once again.

Elliot very much wanted to back the hell away from him but her legs wouldn't obey and instead she slid down the wall to sit on the floor, bracing her back against the door. "I won't taste it," she mumbled, closing her eyes again as a wave of sickness washed over her. Wouldn't she ever be free of the bastard? He was god knew how many miles away but he could still make her panic to this extent, as he had once done every night. "Probably just taste like ice cream or something." That was, after all, what her food intake had mostly consisted of these past few weeks.

"I need to speak with you," the vampire repeated and Elliot opened her eyes. She had to tilt her head to look at him and grew suddenly furious with herself; what the hell was she doing? Sitting on the floor, practically at this vampire's feet? How weak she must look. Gritting her teeth, Elliot hauled herself to her feet, tensing again as another car drove by. Once again, it didn't stop and she let out her breath.

"What do you want?" she asked tiredly. All she wanted was to go and have a long bath and go to sleep so she could forget about Michael and this damn vampire who was leaning oh-so-casually against the kitchen door.

"Are you scared of me?" he asked, taking Elliot quite by surprise.

"What?" she asked blankly.

"Are you scared of me?" he said again, emphasising each word.

There was silence for a few seconds before Elliot's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "Should I be?" she fired back.

The vampire's mouth twisted into a smirk. "Probably."

Ugh. Elliot rolled her eyes. "I've met men a lot scarier than you, Mr Fangtasia." And he hadn't needed fangs to do it.

"Eric," he corrected quietly. "And I'm sure I could change your mind."

"What did you want?" Elliot really couldn't be bothered with word games right now, especially not with a vampire who had a permanent cocky smirk on his lips and sat on a damn throne in the evenings. It was clear even from the brief minutes Elliot had known him that he was full of himself, and unfortunately the women who fell at his feet did little to dispel his arrogance.

"The other night when you visited my bar, I tried to glamour you," Eric told her, only to be met by another blank stare. "It's a little like mind-control," he added for clarification.

"You _what_?" Elliot demanded, outraged. "How dare you! I never-"

"Relax," he cut her off, looking bored. "It didn't work."

"_That's_ not the point," Elliot growled, her worry over Michael forgotten in the wake of the anger. This was much better; anger she could deal with, anger was welcomed. Anger didn't hurt, it only burned whatever stood in the way and Elliot was more than okay with that. It had been a long time since she had burned with fury; she'd long ago learned how to quell it after witnessing the consequences but the idea of someone reaching into her mind, successfully or not, had it rising within her once again.

"No – the _point_ is that it didn't work," Eric said firmly, stepping forwards and staring intently at her. "I want to know why."

"How the hell should I know?" Elliot snapped. And more importantly, why did he think she cared if his mind trick was broken? Bloody good riddance in her opinion.

"What are you?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"If you're expecting me to say 'scared-" she began with a scowl, but Eric shook his head, taking another step towards her. Elliot held her ground, wanting to make up for how stupid she'd made herself look earlier as she cowered, and her jaw set.

"No, you look like you've moved past that," he commented boredly. "I mean _what_ are you?"

Elliot didn't say anything, merely tried to convey through her expression how stupid a question she thought that was. Apparently understanding the subtext, Eric shot forwards in the blink of an eye, standing so suddenly close to Elliot that his knee brushed against her even as her back pressed into the wall. "_Answer me_," he commanded, staring intently into her eyes again.

"I don't know what you're _asking_," Elliot retorted, trying not to let her terror show; what the hell did this vampire want with her? Stupid bloody Morgan wanting to fuck bloody vampires; if it wasn't for her Elliot would be in the bath right now, getting ready for a nice relaxing night of nightmares.

"It's simple enough," Eric hissed, growing irritated. "What are you? You're not human, not if the glamour doesn't work."

"_Excuse_ me?" Elliot was no longer just irritated, she could definitely feel the anger brewing now. Everything had been so shit recently it had been begging to get out but she'd held onto it, sometimes so hard it make her sick, but now it was coming up and she couldn't help it. Her skin was suddenly itchy all over, her insides feeling too big for her flesh as something inside her grew and grew and it was _her_ expanding and growing and reaching out. Elliot closed her eyes quickly, trying to force it back but it was beyond the point of return now; she knew it well. "You need to move," she gasped, feeling sick as she tried to keep it back.

"You're not going any-" Eric interrupted himself as Elliot shoved against him and he held her in place with a scowl.

"You don't-" But it was too late and Elliot shuddered before it exploded and Eric was suddenly on the other side of the hall, crumpled at the bottom of the stairs. Everything else seemed unharmed and Elliot groaned before her vision faded and she slid down the wall to hit the floor as Eric regained his feet, looking oddly delighted.

Elliot couldn't make out more than his booted feet walking towards her and she drew a breath, wanting to say something – to apologise, maybe – but she couldn't. Despite how little had been effected by the energy she was wiped out and her consciousness was dancing out of reach as cold hands gripped her. She didn't even have the strength to struggle as Eric took her away into the night; she just let go.


	3. It's No Good Running

Elliot couldn't have said what woke her, but something caused her to stir and her eyelids parted with the heaviness of exhaustion. Staring up at the ceiling, she knew at once that this was not her house, not at all and not even close. This was somewhere she'd never seen before, somewhere that felt different - colder, for one thing. There was a distinct chill in the room and the girl shivered inside her leather jacket before she sat up.

"Oh - you're awake. Good." It was a voice she recognised at once and Elliot's gaze snapped to Eric, sitting behind his desk with his lips curled as though this was something he did everyday.

"Where am I?" Elliot demanded, gaining her feet too quickly and swaying on the spot, blinking for a second before she tried the door. Locked. "Let me out."

"Let's get one thing straight; I dictate the terms here," Eric said coolly. "You will make no demands of me and in return I will not hurt you."

"_What_?" Elliot's lips were parted with shock but her expression was furious as she turned her eyes onto the vampire. "How _dare_ you? You have _no _right to keep me here, this is _kidnapping_-"

"Hush," Eric commanded and Elliot, to her dismay, found that her words left her and the anger she had felt was slowly but steadily replaced by fear. That fear only grew as Eric unfolded himself from behind his desk and stalked towards her, standing easily above her frame and encroaching enough into her personal space that she pressed herself hard against the door in an attempt to put some distance between them. "Much better," he smirked and Elliot let out a small growl, not bothering to crush the anger that rose within her. Instead she let it sweep forwards without a barrier and the energy rushed forth, pushing Eric back a foot or so; it wasn't very strong; it had only been a small flash of annoyance compared with earlier, but it was enough for the vampire to grow serious.

"Keep away from me," Elliot snarled at him. "And let me go or I will hurt you. You know I'm capable of it - the only thing neither of us knows is just what I'm capable of. Killing you?" She didn't know, didn't actually want to kill him, in fact, but she hoped the threat and the uncertainty would keep the tall man at bay.

Eric was watching her very carefully, his eyes searching hers, but he didn't advance again, though Elliot remained pressed against the door. Her heart was hammering hard enough that she could feel it in her fingertips and she knew he could hear it, a fact that only served to infuriate her. She hated anyone knowing of any weakness in her and yet this man had viewed her in such a way twice now. It wasn't acceptable.

"I don't think so," Eric said smoothly. "If you were going to kill me you would have already."

"I could say the same," Elliot retorted without pause.

Eric let out a small, chilling laugh. "Please do not mistake your being alive right now for weakness on part; I assure you it is not. You are alive because, while you cannot be glamoured, you may be of some use to me."

That didn't sound good and Elliot's back couldn't get any closer to the door, her fingers curled into fists as she fought the fear back; fear made people irrational, anger made her dangerous. Right now, she would rather be the latter. "How so?" she questioned, keeping her voice casual. She had no interest in being of use to this vampire in any way, but she would say whatever the hell she had to to get out of here with her life.

"That is something you will learn in time. All I need right now is your word that you will come when I call you, that you are at my service."

"Your service?" Elliot repeated suspiciously. She'd been inside Fangtasia on a Friday night before; she knew what sort of services were offered here and her expression darkened into a scowl, her fury evident in her every pore.

"I wish for you to be at my service, yes. Do you accept? Think carefully, now; this could cost you your life," Eric warned her, his smirk still in place, looking very confident that she wouldn't disappoint with her answer.

"I'm no fang-banger, Eric," Elliot told him coldly, avoiding the question.

"And nor did I believe it of you. Do you accept my offer?"

"What offer?" she demanded, righteously furious and wishing she had the guts to punch him in his smug face. "You're threatening my _life_, what choice is there for me?"

"Not much of one," Eric admitted, uncaring of the fact. "In fact I'd go so far as to say you had no choice at all. So - do you accept?"

There was a pregnant pause before Elliot swallowed. "Yes," she gritted out. "I accept. Now let me leave."

"But of course." Graciously, Eric reached around her and unlocked the door, pulling it open. Elliot strode out without looking at him, unsteady on her feet but trying not to let it show. She also had no idea where she was going or how the hell to get there but she wasn't about to stop and ask directions. "Do you need a lift?" he called after her, amusement evident in every thread of his voice.

Elliot said nothing, pushing through the nearest door and finding herself in a bathroom. Backing out, she continued on her way, following the beat of music that was growing louder the further she walked until she eventually found the door to the club. Stepping through, Elliot pushed her way through the thick mass of bodies and somehow made it to the main entrance. The blonde vampire who'd been standing outside last time turned to look at her and her lips curled into a smirk to match Eric's.

"Wise decision," she said as she waved a group of girls dressed in tiny leather skirts through the door.

"Was it?" Elliot asked, frowning as she reached into her pocket for a cigarette and the box of matches. She lit up and inhaled, wishing she was anywhere but here right now. The cigarette helped some; she could feel the stress that Eric had brought on fade a little, to be replaced with wondering how the hell she was going to get home from Shreveport. Could she even go home? Eric knew where she lived; it was hardly safe.

"Yes, girly, it was. You're alive, aren't you?"

Elliot shrugged. "In a manner of speaking."

"Oh please," the vampire scoffed, tossing her hair back over her shoulder. "I can smell you from here; you're as alive as they come. Now get out of here before Eric changes his mind about letting you go home."

Elliot didn't need telling twice and she started walking at once, drawing another breath through her cigarette as she glanced around the lot. Where the hell did she go from here? She really didn't have a clue, and she was unwilling to ask directions from anyone who came to this place out of choice, so she just started walking down the road she'd driven along when she'd come to collect Morgan.

The young woman finished her cigarette and tossed it to the ground, stamping it out before she hunched her shoulders and just walked, ignoring the way the stones dug into the soles of her bare feet. She was used to this; running away. It was normal for her, an accepted part of life. Of course she couldn't stay here; not with a vampire aware of her...ability and overly willing to exploit it. Elliot refused to be indebted to anyone and so she would leave, only this time she was not running from Michael. She was running from Eric and she was running from what she was, though she knew she couldn't outrun her curse forever. Little did she know that outrunning Eric Northman was just as impossible.


	4. There's Nowhere To Hide

**A/N: Sorry guys! I know author's notes can get quite annoying but I won't be long! So, first off I want to apologise for any mistakes in the Americanisms in this - I'm English so I'm not great with American slang or anything, but I'm trying. If you see anything that's blatantly British terminology please let me know so I can correct it - the show and the books are American so I think fics should be too. **

**Also, apologies in advance because the chapters do start getting longer from here on out. I don't know if you like that or not, but if they're getting too long and boring let me know and I'll try to cut back!**

**Thanks so much for reading, your feedback is always appreciated and every time someone favourites or adds this to their alerts I about die of happiness so thank you!  
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She wasn't sure how long she'd been walking but Elliot soon found that she couldn't anymore. The energy that had rushed at Eric can been enough to floor her; she definitely wasn't up for walking however many miles it was back to Bon Temps. Staying out and sleeping rough for the night was hardly a nice idea but she couldn't push herself any further and she sat on the grassy verge with a soft sigh, trying to ignore the chill that came of wearing so little at night.

Lying back, the brown eyes closed against the sky. She wouldn't sleep here; she'd find somewhere a little more secluded but she needed to rest; her legs were shaking from a mixture of exhaustion and fear and plain old anger. Who did Eric the goddamn vampire think he was, anyway? The jerk. She wasn't just some fang-banger he could push around, far from it. But then...why had she let him do exactly that? Because he had pushed her around, he'd backed her into a corner until she had no choice but to agree to whatever the hell it was that he wanted and Elliot didn't like it one bit. She'd met another man who'd been able to back her into a corner and she still had nightmares about him, she wasn't about to let Eric stroll down that very same route. She'd been scared of hurting Michael, she'd quelled the power that rose inside her with every blow but Eric was different; he knew what he was getting himself into and, while Elliot didn't really want to hurt him, she would if she had to.

There was a flash against her eyelids; headlamps, accompanied by the smooth purr of an expensive car. Elliot stilled, eyes remaining closed as she prayed for whoever it was to pass and ignore her; the last thing she wanted was an interrogation as to why she was out on the side of the road with no shoes and barely enough energy to stand.

But her bad day just got worse as the car slowed to a halt, the engine cutting. Elliot expelled a small breath but remained still; maybe they'd just run out of gas or something. There was the low whine of a window as it was opened and Elliot could feel eyes on her. Somehow she knew, without needing to look, exactly who was in the damn car.

"Comfortable?"

"Fuck you."

"Would you like to?"

Elliot made a noise of disgust, keeping her eyes closed. The grass blew against her cheek with a gentle breeze and her nose twitched. Eric didn't say anything else, just sat in his car, evidently waiting for something. "What do you want?" Elliot asked him eventually, once she realised that he was not going to be the one to break the silence.

"What are you doing on the side of the road?"

"Do you always answer a question with a question?" Elliot retorted, infuriated.

"Do you?" Eric returned quickly and Elliot scowled before opening her eyes.

"When I don't want to answer, yes," she told him bluntly. "And my question wasn't unanswerable, so you have no excuse." Perhaps it was the night air, perhaps it was just because Elliot was fed up with being pushed around, but she didn't feel afraid for having spoken like that to Eric. At this moment in time, she didn't care much about anything; she just wanted him to leave her the hell alone so she could get away.

"Neither was mine," Eric pointed out, his words accompanied by the sound of a door opening. At once, Elliot was on her feet, arms folded and jaw set; she wasn't about to lie on the floor in front of this vampire. Now that he was standing at his full height in front of her, Elliot remembered why had scared her so much earlier, remembered what he had made her promise. He knew about her, he knew what she could do and he wasn't about to let that go. "So tell me - why are lying on the side of the road?"

"Tell me what you want," Elliot pressed, unwilling to give in. _Again_.

"You go first."

"_I_ asked first."

"Well you're in no position to refuse me," Eric told her, smug.

Elliot's eyebrows arched. "I think you'll find that I was perfectly capable of pushing you away when you got too close before," she pointed out.

"And I think _you'll_ find that you collapsed shortly after. Hardly the stuff the nightmares, are you?" Eric's tone was pleasant enough but his words irritated Elliot more than she cared to admit. "But you _could_ be," he added, voice deepening slightly, eyes suddenly looking much more alive in the light from the headlamps.

"The stuff of nightmares?" Elliot scoffed. "I think you've got that covered all by yourself. Now, if you'll excuse me." She marched past him, half expecting to feel his hands on her and to be dragged back but he let her storm by, past his car, which he got into without another word. He drove slowly and Elliot thought at first that she hadn't given him enough room to get by so she moved to the side and glanced at him, gesturing him onwards. The car remained where it was and Eric watched her expectantly. Elliot glared at him. "_What _do you want?" she demanded, knowing he would hear. He was silent and she was beginning to suspect that even he didn't really know why he was following her.

"This...ability of yours," he said slowly, winding his window down again. "Have you had it since you were born?"

"Why?"

"Just answer the question." Eric's eyes were cool and his expression made it quite clear that he was bored of the back-and-forth banter.

"Yes. I think so," Elliot told him reluctantly, eyes running over the sports car and wondering which could hurt her more; it or Eric.

"You think so?"

"_Yes_, that's what I said," Elliot snapped and Eric made a deep noise in the back of his throat, fangs flashing into sight.

"I am over a thousand years old, _human_; I do not appreciate your rudeness," he told her acidly, jerking his head as he retracted his fangs. Elliot looked unimpressed, though the sensible part of her brain was telling her to shut the hell up and run into the nearest field where Eric's shiny red sports car couldn't follow.

"I thought I wasn't human," she retorted as the sensible side of her shook its head in dismay.

"It's looking less and less likely; humans tend to have some sort of self-preservation instinct," Eric informed her. Elliot gave a hollow laugh; he didn't have a _clue_. He thought a lack of self-preservation was being a little short with a vampire? Elliot knew better than that; she knew that a lack of self-preservation was standing still while the fists rained down, allowing it to happen over and over without doing a thing to stop it. And she certainly did lack it, so he was right in a sense. Eric looked mildly surprised by her laughter, but his expression smoothed over almost instantly.

"Are you going to kill me then?" Elliot was surprised to find that she didn't feel scared so much as resigned; there was, she knew, no point in trying to outrun the vampire - if he wanted her dead tonight, she would die tonight. Somehow, having no choice made it easier.

"Why, do you want to die?"

Another question. God he was infuriating. "You know I don't think you've answered a single one of my questions," she said angrily. "And mine are a lot more pressing than yours."

"Says who?" Eric asked and as she growled with impatience he looked vaguely amused. "You're very easy to anger," he commented idly.

"I'm not usually," she said coldly. And it was true; Elliot was, and always had been, one of the most controlled people she knew. She had to be; people got hurt otherwise.

"So there's something about me then? Something special?" Eric pressed, eyebrows arching.

"Yes - you're an irritating _dick_ who won't leave me alone."

Eric's fangs flashed again but this time he laughed, loudly, and Elliot stared at him. What was _with_ this dude? "We are moving far from the topic I intended to discuss with you," he said, the laughter stopping abruptly. His fangs remained out and Elliot tried to avoid looking at them. "Why were you lying by the side of the road?"

"Why does your question take precedence over mine?" Elliot demanded.

"Because I'm the one with the car," the simple answer came and Elliot's scowl became suspicious.

"What?"

"I'm the one with the car," Eric said again, exaggeratedly slowly. "So unless you really _want _to sleep on the side of the road, I'd suggest you get in."

"Why?"

"Well it's a long walk back-"

"No," Elliot cut him off, causing a flicker of irritation to pass over Eric's face. "I mean why are you offering me a lift? You were threatening my life a while ago. Makes sense to let me get killed by some mugger or whatever - you're absolved of all blame then." That said, she was pretty sure Eric could murder her and get away with it. In fact she had no doubt that he could, but she tried not to dwell on that.

"I don't want you dead," Eric told her. "Irritating as you are, you could most definitely be useful to me. The fact that you can't be glamoured is inconvenient but I can see past that. Your ability makes you useful, it would be a shame to waste it." His unspoken words of '_but I will if I have to_' were heard to Elliot, or rather seen in his expression. She felt slightly more safe, however, because if Eric thought she had some value then hopefully he_ would_ hesitate before ripping her throat out. "You smell nice, too," Eric added unexpectedly. Elliot knew he was not referring to her perfume.

Without a word she strode around to the other side of the car, opened the door, and got in. She wasn't sure what made her do it, but riding home in a car was certainly preferable to sleeping the night beside the road and walking in the morning, even if Eric was the one driving. Something was beeping and he looked down at the dash before turning to her.

"Seat belt," he prompted, and Elliot slid it into place, frowning as the beeping stopped.

"Why doesn't it beep for you?" she asked, eyes on the very not-plugged-in belt.

"I don't generate heat," he told her simply and Elliot nodded, not wanting to think too much about that; it only reminded her that Eric was _dead_ and that was, she had to admit, quite creepy.

They passed the journey in silence, which was fine by the both of them; Eric's constant evading of her questions was irritating beyond belief and Elliot was exhausted, she just wanted to go to sleep. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to, though; her body was aching with the need to curl up and rest but her mind was racing with a hundred questions she was desperate but hesitant to ask of Eric.

He pulled up outside her house and Elliot unclipped the seat belt, pushing the door open and clambering out. "Um...thanks," she said through the door before closing it and walking towards her porch. She hadn't even heard Eric's door open but suddenly he was standing in front of her and Elliot had to stop sharp to avoid walking right into him. He was blocking the way to the front door and Elliot's heart dipped; was this it, then? Had he been lying before, trying to lure her into a false sense of security so he could kill her right when she thought she was safe?

Eric's hands were on her shoulders and his fingers were digging in, as though he knew she'd been considering running. He felt just like Michael when he held onto her like that and Elliot drew in a shaky breath, trying to keep back the memories, trying to avoid flinching. This was Eric. It was Eric, not Michael. Eric. Eric. Eric. But no matter how she told herself she instinctively panicked, remembered without wanting to the drunken breath and the foul words, the hands and the boots and the anger. Remembered needing to quell her energy and push it back, doing so without thinking.

The hands drew back and Elliot realised she'd closed her eyes, opening them to look at Eric. He was definitely the tall, blond vampire; he looked nothing like Michael. "Are you going to be sick?" he asked with faint disgust and Elliot shook her head.

"I'm fine. Why are you in my way?" she forced through gritted teeth.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't planning on rescinding my invitation," he told her, actually answering one of her questions without some evasive question of his own for once.

"I can do that?" Elliot asked, blinking. That would have been nice to know a while ago. Come to think of it it was the sort of thing that everyone ought to be told; invitations to vampires could be taken back, homes could be made safe again.

"No, you can't," Eric said firmly.

"Why not?" Elliot's tone was indignant and Eric's hands twitched as though he was going to set them on her shoulders again but he refrained.

"Because doing so would make me angry," he told her icily.

"And I'm guessing I don't want that?" Elliot asked, not managing to bite her tongue on time.

"You do not," Eric confirmed.

_You need to shut up now_. That was the sensible part of her, the part that _did_ have a shred of self-preservation locked away somewhere. Elliot ignored it. "That won't matter if you can't come in," she pointed out, trying to move subtly to her left so she could get around him. The look on Eric's face had her frozen to the spot at once.

"Don't be so foolish as to think that I won't be able to find you - you'll have to leave sometime. Even in daylight you wouldn't be safe from me, and it's much better for you if you and I are on good terms." Eric didn't look like he was joking and Elliot wondered what sort of humans would work for a vampire, kidnapping innocent women during the daylight because their boss couldn't.

Sensing that she had no choice, Elliot sighed and Eric seemed to understand that as her agreement because he stepped aside. Elliot let herself in and, as if to prove his power over her, the vampire stepped over the threshold and stared directly into her eyes.

"I'll be in touch." And with that he disappeared too quickly for her to register and Elliot was left alone, staring out over the driveway for a long time after Eric's tail-lights had disappeared into the darkness, wondering just what she'd gotten herself into and how the hell she was going to get herself out of it.


	5. Just a Dash of Normality

Elliot went to bed with a mind full of jagged, confusing and scary thoughts that night. She fell asleep quite quickly but dreamed of awful things and woke up just after dawn. Not wishing to descend back into the nightmares, she forced herself out of bed and stretched. Her body still felt weak from the spout of energy she'd released last night, which wasn't normal; she usually recovered very quickly, and what she'd sent at Eric hadn't been close to the amounts she'd released before. Perhaps because he was a vampire he'd taken more or something. She didn't know and frankly she didn't care; she just wanted to get the hell out of Bon Temps and away from Shreveport.

Sitting at the tiny table in her kitchen, Elliot stared idly at the coffee maker she hadn't set to run yet, running her fingers absently over the wooden top. How could she get away? Where would she go? It wouldn't take her long to pack up; she had so few possessions at the moment. The sale of the house could be dealt with over the phone, with a little luck, and Morgan was away. She could decide where to go once she was on the road. Mind made up, Elliot hit the button for the coffee to begin brewing and went to take a shower.

Half an hour later and she was feeling a lot better, sitting with a cup of coffee, damp hair pushed back from her face. While leaving somewhere was never very nice, she always felt a sense of achievement once she did, a sense of moving on. Now that she knew she was going to have to go, now that the decision had been made, everything was easier; all she had to do was follow her usual routine.

Coffee drained, the young woman got to her feet and got to work packing things up. It was a little over an hour before she was ready but soon enough Elliot had a large bag slung over her shoulder, all the worldly possessions she still had crammed inside, and was stepping out the front door. Instantly, something started growling and she stiffened in fear, casting about for the source.

It was a dog, or a wolf, actually, and it was at the bottom of her steps, looking up at her with teeth bared and hackles raised. It was a vicious looking thing and Elliot's breath caught, her fingers stiffening over the bag strap, heart hammering. Those fangs were sharp, sharp enough to tear through her skin, maybe sharp enough to damage the bone, and the eyes were slanted hideously, the growl rising in pitch. Elliot didn't know what to do, didn't know if it was safe to move or speak or breathe and so she just remained still, trying not to shake and trying hard to keep back tears. Was she going to be savaged by a wolf after surviving last night? Because that was just fucking bullshit and she was sick of this shitty town already.

Finally sucking up the courage to move, Elliot fled back inside and, after a second's thought, locked the door. Where the hell had the wolf even come from? There were a lot of woods around here but this was the first she'd seen in her time here and the bigger forests were on the other side of town. Peering through the curtain, Elliot saw that the wolf had sat down at the bottom of the stairs, eyes trained on the front door. So much for the sleepiest town she could find; this place just got weirder and weirder.

Running her tongue nervously over her lower lip, Elliot moved through the house to peer through the glass in the back door. There was another wolf sitting in the backyard. This one was slightly smaller than the one out front but it looked just as capable of ripping her to shreds. Swearing furiously, Elliot dumped her bag down and tried not to panic. What the hell were they doing here? Why today, of all days?

It was only after pacing around for quite some time that she realised exactly what the wolves were doing outside; guarding her. They were making sure she didn't run away, and Eric must have sent them. Now that she realised it was horribly obvious but that didn't make her any less angry; so vampires could control animals now? They were looking more and more like a danger to society with every new thing she uncovered about them. TruBlood could screw itself because there was no way it made them safe.

Looking out the window for long enough to confirm that the wolf was still out the front, Elliot threw herself onto the sofa. What now? It looked like she was going to be trapped inside all day, and she didn't exactly have a lot of stuff to do. Pulling her laptop towards her, Elliot fired it up and started the internet, staring blankly at the screen for a while and not sure what to do next.

A thought occurred to her and, with only a slight hesitation, she typed _Fangtasia_ into the search bar. A load of results came up, many of them articles about vampire bars, vampire hang-outs and general vampire crap but one of them was the bar's website and Elliot clicked, reading through what they had. Eric, she discovered, was actually the owner of the bar, and he had a phone number.

Not entirely sure what she was doing, Elliot grabbed her cell and started dialling. It went straight to answer phone, where the familiar voice clicked on as an automated message.

"_This is Eric Northman, leave a message._"

"This was _not_ part of our agreement," she growled before hanging up. It didn't make her feel any better. In fact she was quite worried that Eric would take none too kindly to the message and wished she could take it back but it was too late now. She doubted he checked the messages anyway. Sighing, she lay back on the sofa, unfocused eyes staring at the ceiling. What now? She didn't have anything to do. There wasn't even anything to clean; there was too little in the house and she'd packed her things up so it wasn't like there was mess anywhere.

She supposed she could contact the agency who'd dealt with her when she was buying the house, ask them how to go about selling it back, but Elliot had the feeling that leaving Bon Temps wasn't going to be as easy as she'd hoped. Unlike Michael, who'd fallen into regular drunken stupors and hence gave her a chance to get away, Eric had a lot of power and Elliot didn't like it one bit. It was also clear that he'd been able to read her intentions horribly easily, and she was going to have to step up her game. Why had she made it so obvious? If she'd only pretended to be madly in love with him, if she'd fluttered her eyelashes and offered her neck...the thought made her feel ill. True enough, had she done those things she would probably be well on her way by now, but she wasn't even sure that it was worth it. If Eric wanted to find her again, he would. _If_. There was the hopeful possibility that he would get bored of her soon enough and then he'd not bother to chase - with a little luck he'd decide she wasn't worth the time or the effort and then she could get the hell out of here. Of course, to do that she was going to have to stop making it look like she was going to run, and she was going to have to keep her ability under secure wraps; maybe she could convince him that it had mysteriously disappeared or just didn't work more than once every five years or something.

So - she had a purpose. And it meant she wasn't going to be leaving. Unless...Elliot checked outside once again but the wolves were still in place and Plan B held. She was staying, at least for a while, and she needed to make it look to Eric like she was planning on staying for a lot longer. She'd have to get this place looking more decent, would need to find a job.

Elliot spent the rest of the day browsing the internet job ads, laughing aloud at how ridiculous some of them were, writing down others for future reference. The time passed quickly enough and by the time it was getting dark Elliot realised that she hadn't eaten a thing all day. As if to underline this, her stomach gave a loud complaint and she shut the laptop, moving to the window to peer outside. The wolves were gone.

Hardly able to believe her luck, Elliot decided to go and eat at the pub she drove by so frequently - it was less than a ten minute walk from here but she didn't feel safe enough not to go in her car. The night hadn't quite settled in yet so she had no fear of Eric as she strolled outside, though she stared around cautiously for the wolves, in case they'd just been hiding.

The trip to the bar - which was called Merlotte's, apparently - was uneventful, and Elliot parked up in the lot feeling almost normal. It was easy to forget about vampire bar owners who may or may not end up killing you when you were going out to eat and just be ordinary for once. She couldn't wait to sink her teeth into a hamburger; she hadn't eaten anything proper for ages.

Stepping through the door, Elliot kept her head down as every set of eyes turned to see who the newcomer was. Voices started up after a few seconds (and she distinctly heard several people ask who 'the new girl' was) and Elliot slid herself into an empty booth, grabbing the menu and busying herself with looking at it. This was awkward, horribly awkward; why hadn't she come around here before now? This was the sort of town where you went and introduced yourself to your new neighbours instead of hiding from them, but it was too late for regrets now.

"Hi there! Welcome to Merlotte's!" The voice was cheery and, turning, Elliot saw that it belonged to a blonde girl who looked about her own age. She also looked cheerful to point of it hurting, though her eyes were sharp as she stared at the brunette in the booth. Her stare was growing uncomfortable and Elliot stared right back, wondering what the hell was with her. What was with this _town_? Christ, she just walked from one weird situation to the next.

"Er..." Elliot mumbled, breaking the silence when it grew too much. She lifted the menu a little to indicate to the waitress that she wanted to order and the blonde gave herself a slight shake.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "Sorry it's just..." Small white teeth bit down on the woman's lower lip and apparently she thought better of what she was going to say before she forced her smile back into place. "What can I get you?"

"A hamburger, please - with fries," Elliot told her, still suspicious. "And a soda - any you've got, I don't mind."

"Coming right up," the waitress promised, the cheerful tone of voice not quite meeting her eyes before she turned to walk away. She disappeared from sight and the guy from behind the bar followed after a quizzical glance at Elliot.

Jesus Christ, was all this really worth a burger? Her stomach growled again and Elliot realised that yes, it was, so she slumped against her seat to wait. A guy sauntered up and leaned against the seat opposite, hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Well hey there darlin'," he greeted in a voice that made Elliot inwardly cringe. "I ain't seen you around before - you new?"

Not one to be rude without reason, Elliot nodded. "Yeah, just moved in down the road."

"Aww, well that's great! It's a real nice town, you'll love it," he assured her, slipping himself quickly and efficiently into the seat opposite, setting his glass of beer in front of him. Elliot sat up a little straighter, careful not to let their knees bump, and she swallowed. This man was perfectly friendly, he wasn't doing anything wrong, but still she felt the panic rise inside her. "I'm Hal."

"E-Elliot," she forced out, before fixing a smile in place. "It's nice to met you."

"Nice to meet you too. Can I get you anything?"

Elliot shook her head, saved from having to speak again as the blonde arrived with a soda and set it on the table in front of her. "Enjoy!" she chirped, though she was staring again and Elliot shifted uncomfortably.

"Cheers." Elliot's eyes followed the waitress as she made her way back to the bar, a frown pushing her eyebrows downwards.

"Aww, don't worry about her - that's just crazy Sookie," the guy said, not unkindly, as he noticed where Elliot was looking.

Elliot's eyes jerked back towards him. "Crazy?"

"Yeah - everyone says she can read minds," Hal breathed, leaning over the table as he lowered his voice, obviously pleased at being able to update the new girl with the gossip. "And she's a fang-banger, too."

"_What_?" Elliot's eyes sought the blonde out again; she really didn't seem the type. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, she's with that Vampire Bill," Hal nodded, lifting his glass to his lips and taking a large sip.

"Who's Vampire Bill?" Elliot asked, trying not to let her dread show through her voice. It was odd; she'd never really minded vampires so much before. She'd not wanted anything in particular to do with them but she'd thought that it was only fair they had equal rights and all that bullshit, but in the space of one evening Eric Northman had made her reconsider.

"You don't know Vampire Bill? Christ, you must be new," Hal laughed, delighted; he could easily fill an evening with the things a new resident ought to know, and he was more than happy to oblige.

"Yeah, well, I just moved here, like I said," Elliot told him, a little defensively.

"He's the vampire that lives in the old Compton House," Hal explained, and Elliot nodded as though she knew what that was, making a mental note never to go there. "He arrived here a while back, took a liking to our Sookie and they been together ever since. He's pretty decent, as fangers go - did a talk once at the DGD meeting, comes in here sometimes."

"DGD?" She was feeling more and more like she was back in middle school.

"Yeah, it's this club for old people who're obsessed with the war," Hal said, rolling his eyes. "Vampire Bill's talk was good though - I think most of the town turned up to it."

"So, is he the only vampire here?" Elliot asked, curious; the nickname Vampire Bill sort of implied that there weren't any others in Bon Temps but she wanted to be sure, and Hal seemed more than happy to answer her questions.

"Yep. We had others round here a while back but their house got burned down," he said, making a face. "Then some other vamps came in and they were _real_ angry about it."

"At the people who burned the house?" Elliot questioned, forgetting her discomfort as she found herself getting drawn into the story; she really had chosen the wrong place to settle down.

"Yep," Hal confirmed, eyes alight with the tale as he took another long draught of beer.

"So...the house was burned on purpose?" Elliot confirmed, frowning. "By humans?" She may not have been too happy with vampires in general at that moment in time but the thought made her feel sick; murder was wrong, whether the victim was human or vampire.

"Yep," Hal said again. "Like I said, the fangers were real mad - seemed to know exactly who'd done it as well."

"Where do those vampires live?"

"Dunno," came the reply, right as the waitress arrived back with her meal. Elliot thanked her and tuned out the intense stare she received once again; maybe the woman really was just crazy and didn't like new people. Picking up a fry and chewing on it, she nudged the plate towards Hal, expression inviting; she wanted him to keep talking.

With a smile of thanks, Hal took a fry of his own and chewed on it thoughtfully. "Not round here, though?" she asked, wanting to make sure.

"Don't think so," Hal replied. "I think Vampire Bill's the only-" He stopped abruptly, eyes widening at the door behind Elliot's back and she noticed the sudden hush that had fallen over the bar.

"What's wr-" she began, but she didn't finish the question because as she turned to look over her shoulder she saw exactly what was wrong; Eric Northman had just walked in, accompanied by a dark haired vampire who barely came up to his shoulders. Biting her lip, Elliot slid as low as she could in her seat, feeling sick. _Shit_.


	6. Ground Rules

"Hey - is everything okay?" Hal asked, looking alarmed at Elliot's sudden pallor when he finally dragged his gaze from the vampires. There was a small cry of 'Bill!' from the waitress - Sookie - which was followed by a less enthusiastic '...Eric?' and Elliot was pleased to find that the blonde didn't seem very inclined towards the vampire either. Maybe she wasn't so crazy after all.

"Nothing, it's just - that vampire doesn't like me very much," Elliot replied, wondering what she ought to do. Maybe Eric had come in here to see the waitress; the vampires were both walking towards her. Maybe he wasn't here for her at all. "Maybe I should go."

Hal nodded. "You need a ride?" he asked, standing up himself. Elliot didn't, but Hal had thick muscle beneath his t-shirt and boots that told her he worked outside. He was no Michael; he'd been pleasant and nice and helpful and Elliot thought that she would be a lot safer with him than if she was alone. She didn't want to drag the poor guy into whatever her situation was with Eric, however, and she hesitated. "C'mon," Hal said, making the decision for her. He stepped out from the booth and they passed across the open window, headed for the side entrance.

Elliot's eyes were on Eric, which was why she noticed as he suddenly stiffened, head swinging round to stare straight at her. He had his fangs out and Elliot swallowed, staring at him. He looked momentarily surprised, which was quickly placed by anger, and then his expression smoothed and he headed for her with purposeful strides.

"Shit," Elliot breathed, backing up a step. Hal took her arm and pulled her outside; for once, Elliot didn't think of Michael at the contact, allowing herself to be directed through the door without flinching. They didn't make it very far; barely two steps into the empty lot and Elliot's other arm was gripped with a vice-like quality and she turned to see Eric, his furious eyes on Hal.

"Let go of her," he said coldly, authoritatively. To his credit, Hal didn't back away, despite the fact that Eric towered over him and was making no effort to hide his fangs or his anger.

"What do you want with her?" Hal demanded, and Elliot fancied that she could feel his thrumming heart through his hand; his skin was pale and his pupils were dilated. She felt a sudden rush of respect and liking for him; he had no need to protect her, for all he knew Eric would rip his head off for doing so, and yet here he was. Maybe there really were decent guys in the world after all; Hal certainly seemed to be one. Which was why Elliot couldn't let him get hurt.

"What do _you_ want with her?" Eric returned sharply.

Taking a breath, Hal made an obvious effort to calm himself. "To get her home safe," he said piously and Eric gave a derisive laugh.

"Elliot, you want to come with me, don't you?" he said, eyes glittering. His left hand remained steady with its grip while his right arm moved to wrap around her waist. Eric pulled her against him in a mockingly tender embrace, efficiently removing her from Hal's grasp. Elliot closed her eyes for a few seconds, stiff against Eric's body as Hal stood helplessly.

"It's fine, Hal - thank you," she told him with a small sigh. Her eyes focused on the kind green ones and Hal bit his lip, looking between her and Eric. It was clear to anyone who cared to look that she wasn't happy with the situation, and Elliot could almost sense Hal making up his mind to do something drastic so she forced a smile onto her face; Eric wasn't going to be patient for long. "Really," she insisted.

"I thought you said-" Hal began, and Eric sighed. Letting go of Elliot's arm, though leaving his other wrapped around her, he reached out to tip the young man's chin upwards and stared at him.

"Leave us alone, Hal," he directed firmly and the air seemed to shift slightly. Hal's eyes glazed over for a second before he blinked and took a step back.

"I'll see you around, Elliot," he said with a cheerful wave before turning to walk away. She watched him go, unhappy that Eric had glamoured him but recognising that at least he was safe this way.

"Seeya," she murmured, too quietly for him to hear.

"He only wanted sex, anyway," Eric said with an uncaring shrug as Elliot moved to step away from him. He held on for a second before dropping his arm so she could put some space between them.

"He was being _nice_, he was talking to me," Elliot said, irritated but too tired to actually be angry.

"Well, I want to talk to you." And it was quite clear that Eric felt this argument more than justified; he wanted something, he took it. Elliot sighed and waited expectantly. "Bill, come outside. Bring Sookie," he said and Elliot frowned, glancing around and wondering if Eric was losing it.

"Um..." But the vampire who'd entered the bar with Eric was suddenly walking out the door with Sookie's hand in his and Elliot realised Eric had been summoning them. This, then, must be Vampire Bill.

"Good evening, Miss Sanderson," he said politely, and Elliot's lip twitched in the very vaguest glimmer of a smile that was far from welcoming.

"You can call me Elliot," she mumbled, eyes passing over to Sookie, who was watching her apologetically.

"Sorry," the waitress said, offering a smile a lot more genial than Elliot's had been. "I know I was acting a little strange earlier but I'm just not used to not being able to hear someone. I'm Sookie."

Elliot frowned, trying to remember what had been said between them when she was ordering but the appearance of Eric had driven everything else from her mind.

"Sookie is a telepath," Eric spoke up, apparently realising that Elliot was at a loss. "I wanted to know if she could hear you."

"I can't," Sookie said for clarification, glancing at Eric. "So can you let her go, now? Poor girl never got to eat her burger - you can have another on the house," she promised, looking across at Elliot with all the sympathy of one who knew what Eric was like.

"That's alright - I'm not hungry anymore," Elliot waved the offer off, not entirely sure what was even going on here.

"Try touching her," Eric suggested, ignoring the conversation that had occurred and taking hold of Elliot's arm again. He held it up, offering her hand to Sookie and Elliot's fist clenched.

"Can someone _please_ tell me what's going on here?" she demanded, tugging uselessly on her arm and looking between the three of them. "Christ - all I wanted was to get something to eat."

"I'll explain later," Eric said, eyes on Sookie. "See if you can read her."

Sookie cast one last apologetic look at Elliot before laying cool fingers on her hand. She closed her eyes for several seconds, clearly concentrating hard before she shook her head, stepping back. "Nothing," she said, looking amazed. "It's like she's one of you."

"She's not," Eric shook his head.

"I'm not," Elliot said at the same time. Eric turned to look back at the pub.

"You can hear the shifter, correct?" he asked, eyebrows arching.

"Yes, but he's different to normal people - not so much thoughts as feelings and images. But with Elliot...nothing," Sookie said, looking between Elliot and Eric. _Sorry_, she mouthed at her, while Eric was busy looking the other way. Elliot rolled her eyes in an 'Eric is a prick' kind of way, and the waitress' lips curled sympathetically.

"Interesting," Eric mused, focusing on Elliot once again. She shifted under his gaze and Bill cleared his throat.

"So, are you done here?" he asked, somehow managing to sound deferential while obviously dismissing the blond vampire.

"Try and glamour her," Eric told Bill, ignoring the comment.

"Eric, she cannot be glamoured, you know this," Bill replied tiredly.

"I would, however, very much appreciate it if you would try," Eric said poisonously. He was growing tired of being questioned and his tone made it clear that Bill was not to forget his position. Elliot looked between them with a slight frown; vampires were _weird. _ Eric's hands clamped onto her shoulders and he steered her so she was facing Bill. Brushing off her irritation at being treated like some sort of doll, Elliot met Bill's dark gaze, aware that she had little choice. She wouldn't put it past Eric to hold her eyelids open if she tried to refuse.

"Elliot...can you feel my influence?" Bill asked in the same, deep tone Eric had used the first night they'd met.

"Nope." Not unless his influence came in the form of mild irritation at vampires being so damn full of themselves and a slight worry for Hal. Bill shrugged, glancing at Eric.

"Good," the blond vampire said with a short nod. "That is all."

"Excellent!" Elliot said chirpily, offering a dazzling, forced smile onto all those present. "I'll just -"

"I still need to speak with you," Eric cut her off, hand landing on her shoulder once again. "Bill, Sookie - another time." It was a clear dismissal and the two walked away hand in hand. Eric's eyes followed them until they were out of sight and Elliot began to grow nervous again. She wished, strangely, that Hal was still there; he'd been so friendly, so polite. Nothing like the vampire currently steering her towards her own car and directing her into the passenger seat.

Elliot stiffened and shook her head. "No way are you driving my car," she said firmly, pushing back against the force Eric was exerting.

"You'll drive too slowly," Eric pointed out, though he stopped trying to push her inside.

"And you'll drive too _quickly_," Elliot countered. "I'm actually able to die, you know." Why did she feel so comfortable talking to him like this? It wasn't as though he hadn't made it clear he didn't appreciate it, but somehow, perhaps stupidly, she didn't think he was going to hurt her. Not yet, not while she might be useful. That was what kept her safe, it was why she was going to have pretend to not mind being around him, going to have to pretend like she was glad to be helping him with whatever it was he was after. It wouldn't be for long, just until he lost the guards. Then she'd be gone before he could do a thing about it.

Eric frowned. "I won't crash."

"Neither will I. And it's my car, my insurance, my money. _I'm_ driving." She would also feel a lot safer driving because it meant she could dictate where they went. Not that Eric wasn't able to change their course quite easily should he so decide but she was trying to overlook that. She walked around to the other side of the car and, with an audible sigh (which was rude considering he had no need to breathe at all), Eric slid into the passenger's side, head bent awkwardly and shoulders hunched.

"Seat belt," Eric prompted, his voice a reprimand as Elliot moved to pull away. She shot him a look.

"I live like two minutes away." But she buckled in as Eric continued to look at her in that Eric-way he had and she drove with the horrible feeling that she was being judged. She could almost feel the vampire's impatience at the slowness but there was a limit and she was sticking to it. If he hated it that much he could have just done his vampire trick to her house but he hadn't so it was tough. When they pulled up outside Elliot suddenly remembered why she'd been mad at him earlier. "I see your guard dogs have decided to leave me alone for the night," she commented with a voice like acid.

"Yes, rather a lot earlier than I instructed," Eric replied, a flash of irritation on his face before he fixed it back to being neutral.

"Look, we're going to need to set some ground rules," Elliot stated, turning off the ignition and turning to look at him. She'd left the porch light off so she could only just make out his silhouette in the dark; it was unnerving to think that he could see her perfectly clearly. She blinked a few times in the hopes that her vision would get a little clearer but it didn't make a difference. Elliot paused, half-expecting Eric to laugh in her face and tell her that there was no 'we', that he set the rules and she just had to deal with that. But he didn't; he was sitting in silence, obviously waiting for her to continue. "So..." Okay, she hadn't actually thought this far; she hadn't thought Eric would let her get this far and now she had no idea what to say. "I'm not a doll," she ended up blurting out, annoyed as she remembered the way Eric had moved her around. "And you need to ask me before you do something like get someone to read my damn _mind_."

"That sounds...reasonable," Eric replied after a moment of silence, and Elliot frowned at him, because that wasn't an answer.

"And no more _wolves_ outside my house," she added. "That thing scared the shit out of me this morning and it meant I was stuck inside all day."

"That won't be possible," Eric told her, sounding almost regretful. Almost. "You see, the second the sun rises and there's nothing keeping you here, I know you'll run away."

"I won't," Elliot said at once. "I promise."

"I don't believe you," Eric told her bluntly.

"Well...you should," Elliot said lamely. He shouldn't but she'd never had a problem with lying.

"Prove it." It was a challenge and Elliot, being competitive by nature, rose to it. Her jaw set.

"Alright - how?"

"Take my blood."

"Do _what_?"

"Drink my blood," Eric said, very slowly, as if he were talking to a particularly slow child. Elliot blinked.

"Um, _no_," she said sharply. "I don't do V, that's disgusting." She was furious that he'd even suggested so and she yanked open the door; she should have known that he couldn't be civil for any period of time. Clambering out, Elliot marched across the lawn to her front door but Eric was already there and she found herself hating whatever graced vampires with all their annoying little tricks that made them that much harder to evade.

"I didn't wish to accuse you of anything," Eric told her dryly, apparently amused by the offence she'd taken. "I can tell a V addict a mile off; you are not one."

Yes, because she definitely needed _Eric_ to tell her that. Elliot just looked at him, still irritated and wondering just what this vampire had that could keep her so on edge; she was normally so good at keeping her emotions under wraps, never letting anything out, but Eric could draw it from her so easily it was a little frightening.

"Drinking blood from a vampire is different to taking V," he began to explain.

"It's still disgusting," Elliot said firmly.

"Well then the wolves will have to return at dawn," he shrugged, the movement making her realise just how massive his shoulders were. He must've been a gladiator or something when he was actually alive.

"No! That's not fair, Eric - I have to be able to leave my own house," Elliot protested. Eric moved slightly and, afraid he was going to zip off and leave her with no choice, Elliot's hand reached out quickly, fingers gripping the material of his shirt. He looked down at her hand before back at her, arching an eyebrow. "You can't leave yet, we're not done here," she said flatly.

"Do you think you could stop me?" he asked.

"No," Elliot said honestly. "But I'm hoping that you won't just piss off if I ask you nicely to stay for a while."

"I didn't hear you ask," he returned and his lips had taken on that arrogant smirk. Elliot dropped her hand.

"Would you just wait here and talk to me?" she sighed, dragging her eyes up to meet his gaze. "It's been a _day_ and already you're too controlling for my liking." Eric's smirk widened and he leant down towards her. For one shocking and confusing second she thought he was going to kiss her but he stopped just short of her lips.

"You didn't say please," he pointed out, voice barely above a whisper.

"Uh..." Elliot blinked before giving herself a small shake, wishing her heart hadn't done the strange little jig it just had because Eric was sure to have heard it and she didn't want him getting the wrong idea. "Please."

"I'd be delighted," he said at a normal volume, straightening up. "Shall we go inside?" He unlocked the door (how the _hell_ had he gotten the key from her pocket without her noticing?) and Elliot tried not to feel put out about the fact that a vampire was inviting her into her own home. She stepped inside and shut the door, turning to look for Eric. He'd settled himself comfortably on her worn out old couch, looking far too big for it, so she perched on the windowsill. "So, you mentioned some ground rules?"

"Yes," Elliot nodded. "I uh...I'm not really sure what they all are yet," she admitted, making a face. "But I know some. First on the list: no wolves."

"I already told you my stipulation for removing the wolves during the day time," Eric replied.

"And I already told _you_ that I don't do vampire blood."

"So it seems we have a dilemma," the vampire observed.

"Seems that way, yeah. Eric I _need_ to be able to leave my house during the day without fear of having my throat ripped out," Elliot told him, wondering why she even had to explain this to someone.

"And I need you to remain in Bon Temps," Eric said with a shrug.

"Well I can hardly _remain_ here without a job so I can actually buy food - _I_ need that to survive, unlike some," Elliot retorted. "And it's boring as hell just sitting in here all day." She needed to get out, to do things. If she sat doing nothing all day she'd remember Michael and she'd get scared all over again; Eric was enough to deal with.

"Do you have a job?" Eric asked her, an eyebrow arching.

"Not yet," Elliot admitted. "But it's a bit hard to look for one when you've got a wolf on your doorstep."

"Why don't you work at Fangtasia?" he suggested.

"No." She wasn't going to be spending any more time at that place than was strictly necessary.

"Where Sookie works, then," he allowed. "That bar." Elliot's eyes narrowed.

"What, so your little telepath can keep an eye on me?" she demanded, offended.

"Well where else were you going to work?"

"I don't know yet. I don't want to work in a bar, though." She didn't mind going in for a quick bite to eat but the smell of alcohol made her feel sick after a while, and the drunks scared her. Not that she was about to tell Eric that.

Eric's eyes rolled. "You are very demanding," he commented.

"You are very controlling," she returned, matching his tone. She wasn't being demanding at all, not by modern standards; being allowed to leave her own house was something most considered a right. Eric, though, seemed to be stuck in the stone age.

"I have a solution," Eric announced after a few seconds of silence. "When dawn breaks, I will not send the wolves to guard your door. Instead, I will send a man of mine over and he will stay with you."

"Like a babysitter?" Elliot growled.

"Think of it as...me protecting my assets," the vampire suggested with none too friendly a grin. "I must leave." He rose from the couch and was gone before she could tell him she wasn't finished yet.

"Asset my ass," she grumbled, resisting the urge to kick the seat he'd just vacated. Instead she sat on the couch herself, closing her eyes and trying not to realise how weird it was that Eric hadn't left the material warm but at exactly room temperature.


	7. I'm Not Okay

**A/N: So we're just going to pretend that Alcide, for some reason that I am yet to think of, owes Eric another favour/hasn't yet paid his favour. Artistic licence, gotta love it ;)**

**Also - I've been considering renaming this fic because I chose the current title on the spur of the moment (taken from the song Jar of Hearts, in case you hadn't guessed) and I don't know how well it fits. If you have any ideas or suggestions I'd be glad to hear them!**

**As always, thank you for reading and to everyone who's reviewed, you have no idea how much you make my days brighter. Seeing a notification for a review on my phone just makes everything so much happier and I love you all for it 3 Thanks also to everyone who's favourited/alerted this story - it means so much to know that people are enjoying reading it because I love writing it. I've got a bunch more chapters written as well as a few scraps of scenes that I'm not sure where to fit, but I still have no idea where this is going so I hope you continue to ride it out.**

**Aaand, without further ado; I present chapter seven. Enjoy :)**

Her neck was stiff when she woke up and Elliot realised that she'd fallen asleep on the couch. Someone was knocking at the door and her heart jumped, frightened; it was getting light outside which meant that it wasn't Eric, but nobody else knew where she lived. Dark eyes shifted across to look at the clock; four am. Who the hell was knocking this bloody early?

"Elliot?" somebody called, and for a wild moment she thought it was Hal. "Elliot Sanderson?" It wasn't Michael; the police, maybe? But she hadn't done anything wrong, she didn't think. "Elliot? Sorry - I know it's late, well...early." He thumped harder on the door, obviously trying to wake her up. "Eric sent me, I'm not gonna hurt you, please just let me in. Elliot?"

She was staring in the direction of the door, torn. Rising from the sofa, Elliot wandered towards the hallway. "Er...hi," she said and the thumping stopped at once.

"Elliot?"

"That's me," she confirmed to the dark figure she could see through the glass in door. She could tell he was thickly muscled and, while not as tall as Eric, he was certainly on the higher side of things. What was it with people and the super growing genes around here?

"Eric sent me," the man repeated. "I'm supposed to be gua- uh...spending the day with you." Elliot's eyes narrowed at the slip.

"Prove it," she said forcefully. "How do I know you're not just some murderer trying to get in my house?"

There was a pause while he thought that over. "Well, if I was a murderer, I wouldn't have knocked," he said logically.

"You could be a polite murderer," Elliot suggested. "It'd be a lot easier for you to kill me if I answered the door to you instead of you having to force your way inside. You'll need to do better than that, I'm afraid."

There was a sigh from the other side of the door. "How many murderers do you know that live around here?"

"Is that counting the vampires?" Elliot retorted.

There was a genuinely amused laugh. "Touche." It was that, inexplicably, that made her trust him and Elliot opened the door. The man on the porch was big, handsome, and he was still laughing. Why he found it so amusing she didn't know, but she liked that he'd found it funny, and she soon found that his laughing was making her chuckle as well. Weird. "So, you're Elliot," he said eventually, turning a kind smile onto her.

"And you must be the babysitter," she told him, arching an eyebrow though she stepped back to let him in.

"Well, yeah, pretty much. Most people just call me Alcide though."

"Yeah, I'll call you that," she said, shutting the door and turning to him. He was wearing what most of the guys around here seemed to wear; shirt and blue jeans with boots. "Um...you want coffee?"

"Sure," Alcide shrugged, following her to the kitchen. Elliot definitely needed some; four am was too early to get up but there was no way she was about to go to sleep with a strange man in her house. He sat at the table while Elliot fiddled with the coffee maker, the only thing she'd actually bought for this house so far; the rest of the stuff had come with it. It meant, unfortunately, that most of her things were old and didn't work properly but at least they'd not cost her anything.

"So," she said, setting two cups on the table and sliding a milk jug and sugar bowl to him. She'd dumped two spoonfuls of the sweet stuff in hers but no milk. "Did Eric tell you why you're here?" The question was, despite her efforts, asked nervously.

"Not really," Alcide replied, putting some sugar and milk into his cup and stirring it around a few times, avoiding her gaze.

"Oh yeah?" Elliot didn't believe him. "What'd he tell you, then?"

"Just that you weren't exactly human, but he wasn't sure what you were capable of, and that you would run away the second you got the chance," Alcide related.

"What made him think that?" she asked, though she was pleased to hear that Eric didn't know what she was capable of. In truth, she didn't either, but it gave her something of an edge and with Eric one needed all the edges they could get. Right now, Elliot was a bit of a circle. She was aiming to be a triangle, at least.

Alcide ran his tongue over his lower lip as he thought, dark eyes lifting to meet hers. "He said you were already running from something."

Elliot blinked and sat up a little straighter. Eric, apparently, was a lot more tuned in than he looked, or maybe she had been a lot more obvious than she meant to be. Her fingers had wrapped themselves tightly around her cup but she could barely feel the heat of the coffee as it bled through to burn her palms. "Eric says a lot of things," she said after a long pause, effectively settling the conversation.

"Yeah, well - you look human all right. Smell a bit different but," Alcide shrugged, "that's not always a bad thing."

"You can _smell_if someone's a human?" Elliot choked out, finally letting go of her cup. Her palms were hot and she set them on her knees, staring at the man opposite.

"Yeah," Alcide nodded, before realisation crossed his face. "Right - you don't know. Sorry." He had the distinctly sheepish expression of someone who'd just let slip something they weren't supposed to and Elliot was intrigued at once.

"How come?" He definitely wasn't a vampire.

"It doesn't matter," Alcide said hastily, taking a gulp of coffee. "Aren't you tired? Sorry I woke you - Eric wanted me here before the sun rose fully. Oh, that reminds me." He pulled out his phone and keyed in a number before holding it to his ear. "I'm here," he said after a pause. A voice spoke on the other end and dark eyes looked Elliot over before he shrugged one shoulder. "Fine. Yeah. Yeah. I understand." He snapped it shut looking none too pleased and pocketed it. "Sorry - I was supposed to phone him the second I stepped inside. We'll just pretend this coffee thing didn't happen, yeah?"

Elliot shrugged. "Doesn't bother me. So - how come you can smell if a person's human or not? And what do I smell like if I don't smell human?"

"I just have a good sense of smell," Alcide said pointedly. "And I don't - I can't really describe how you smell." Unconsciously, he drew in a deep breath and shot her a small smile. "Nice. It's like, you smell _more_ than ordinary. Like there's a lot of you all packed up inside. You smell like running through the woods so fast it's like you're flying." He shifted, apparently uncomfortable with his simile, but Elliot was frowning. "Just...like _life_. Like life." He gave a short nod, decided.

"Right." That wasn't weird at _all_. "Well...some life. Sitting in my kitchen at four am with a guard." More like a prisoner, really, than an asset.

"Eric'll let up soon," Alcide predicted. "He's very possessive - vampires don't really think of people as people so it's not a problem to him to set wolves at your door to keep you inside. Soon enough though, he'll come around - just keep on like you are, I think he was shocked damn near senseless by the fact that you actually stood up to him. Not many do."

"Yeah, well, I've had enough of being bossed around for one lifetime," Elliot said, taking a sip of coffee and relishing the heat over her tongue.

Alcide gave a grim nod. "Eric does tend to have that effect on people," he observed.

Elliot hummed in response but didn't say anything; she'd been through with being bossed around long before Eric showed up but Alcide didn't need to know that. The two finished their coffee in silence that was not quite awkward but not quite companionable either; Alcide didn't have anything to say and Elliot was still too groggy to hold a decent conversation. She felt that she ought to offer him something to eat but all she had was ice cream and there wasn't even a lot of that left.

They passed the day relatively comfortably; Alcide, it turned out, knew Bon Temps quite well and as Elliot had been yet to look around her new home he'd taken her out to see it all. She'd seen pretty much all there was to see by lunchtime and the two decided to eat at Merlotte's, largely because Elliot hadn't stocked her kitchen with anything but coffee and ice cream for a long time. She was horribly tired but the pleasant summer day was having a livening effect on her so she didn't feel exhausted, which was fortunate, and she was feeling oddly hungry.

Elliot slid into a booth, glad to note that the place wasn't too full. She wasn't sure what day it was, she'd lost track of the date a while back, but she supposed it wasn't a weekend. Once Alcide had sat down, after a probing look at everyone currently occupying the bar, Elliot leaned towards him. "What day is it today?" she asked in a low voice.

"Tuesday," he told her with a small frown, trying to look beyond what was right in front of him. "Elliot...are you alright?" The question was blunt, to the point, and unexpected.

Elliot considered lying. She considered telling him she was fine, like she had told everyone else. She considered saying yes, I'm just tired because someone madman was knocking on my door at four am. Because that was the easiest, that was the safest; she was fine and that was her shield. Those words. But she opened her mouth to say it and she couldn't. The words failed her as she met Alcide's dark eyes, as she took in the tiny crease at the corner of his mouth that told her he knew, without her having to say so, that she was not, in fact, fine. Far from it.

"No," she said after a long moment. "No I'm not." And they were the truest words she had spoken for weeks.

Alcide looked at her carefully for a few moments before, inexplicably, he leaned over the table and wrapped both arms around her. She didn't flinch away, didn't even think of Michael, but reached around Alcide's back and held onto him. Neither of them could have explained it; none of them appreciated unnecessary physical contact and they barely knew each other, but in those moments, bent awkwardly over the table in Merlotte's, the two clung together like sailors in a storm.


	8. Playing With Fire

Alcide hung around for the week and Elliot didn't see Eric once. She was told that he got in touch regularly to check that everything was going as would be expected, but that didn't bother her as long as the vampire stayed out of the way. She also found that she liked Alcide very much, and that he was nothing like Michael. By the end of the week he was sleeping in the spare room and Elliot felt a lot safer for it.

He'd talked her into shopping for groceries and he'd helped her set up the kitchen to functionality. He'd managed to fix the leaky tap in the bathroom and various other odd jobs around the place that Elliot hadn't even noticed and he'd kept the loneliness and the fear that Elliot had come to associate with life at bay. He was, in short, very good company.

After eating the haphazard meal they'd thrown together (well, Alcide ate it - Elliot never ate much in terms of 'real' food, as the he had put it, and preferred her ice cream) they'd retreated to the living room to watch a film. The couch had been taken up by Alcide, his long legs taking over the entire thing, and Elliot had shaken her head at him before settling on the floor. His arm rested casually over her shoulder and Elliot took comfort from the weight of it, leaning her head onto him as the movie began to play.

Perhaps there was something in the air, maybe it was just that enough time had passed but somehow (and Elliot really wasn't sure how) they ended up together on the couch and Alcide's lips were against hers. She had no idea what was going on in the movie, wasn't aware of much besides Alcide's body pressed against her, his lips and his tongue and his hands. They were just at the point of getting very carried away (indeed she was going to have to reattach at least three buttons to her shirt tomorrow) when a shrill ring caused her to jump.

Alcide groaned, frustrated, and closed his eyes. "Let's ignore it," he suggested, moving to kiss her again. Elliot let him but the second ring caused her to jerk and she sighed, reaching into his pocket for the phone. She flipped it open and moved her head quickly so that Alcide's kiss landed on her chin instead of her mouth, leaving her free to talk.

"Hello, Alcide's phone - he's-" Elliot cut herself off with a gasp as Alcide's hands wandered, shifting to adjust herself and shooting the man a mock scowl though it was ruined by the light laugh she couldn't hold back. "He's ah - he's bus-" She let out a small cry of laughter, struggling to grab Alcide's hands before they could interrupt her phone call further.

"What are you doing?" The voice was cold, unimpressed, and the smile fell off her face at once. She stared at Alcide, her stomach dropping.

"It's Eric," she mouthed at him and he paled a little.

"Elliot?" Eric was not happy, even over the sounds in the background that Elliot couldn't quite make out.

"Um...yes?" she asked innocently. Alcide had removed his hands from her now and he was biting his lip. He made a motion to ask if he should take the phone and deal with the vampire but Elliot shook her head.

"Why are you answering Alcide's phone?" Eric asked. He sounded like he'd recovered from the initial shock, though his tone was still cold.

"Why does that matter?" she returned, eyes narrowing. Alcide winced and shook his head at her.

"Play nice," he murmured, very quietly and very close to her earlobe. Elliot's breath escaped her all too quickly and her lips curled at the man.

"What are you doing?" Eric questioned.

"Watching a film," she told him casually. It wasn't technically a lie, she supposed.

"Oh? Which film?" The vampire's interest was feigned but Elliot felt a moment of panic because she couldn't actually remember which film they'd switched on.

"Um...it's - um..." She looked across at the television but couldn't recall the title. "It's French." That was definitely a lie. "I can't pronounce the title."

"I see." It was clear that Eric didn't believe her.

"Uh huh." This conversation was now officially awkward, and Alcide moved to kiss her again. Elliot leaned her forehead against his and closed her eyes. His breath was very hot against her mouth and Elliot was finding it difficult to concentrate.

"Oh yes, I know this film." Both Elliot and Alcide froze because this time Eric's voice came not only through the phone but from the doorway. "I believe it's called get _off_ my human."

"She isn't yours," Alcide growled, moving instinctively to shield Elliot from view or harm.

"She's _mine_," Eric hissed, his fangs flashing into view. Elliot drew in her breath and set her hands flat against Alcide's chest. She needed to keep calm, she needed to not think about how fucking furious Eric made her with a few choice words. She needed to focus on Alcide not being killed. In fact she needed to focus on _her_ not getting killed.

"Leave him, Alcide, he knows I'm not his," she said in a voice of forced calm, resolutely not looking at the blond vampire as he stalked closer.

"You have three seconds to get off of her before I remove you myself," Eric warned in a low voice.

"Fuck _off_ Eric, _you_ were the one who sent him here," Elliot snapped, glaring at him.

"I wasn't aware that I sent him here to whore him out," Eric returned acidly. With a short sigh Alcide lifted himself off of the sofa and Elliot stood up, shaking with fury.

"You are un-fucking-believable," she bit out at him, moving to stand beside Alcide. Eric growled in response and Elliot's stance hardened, her shoulders squaring.

"Alcide, perhaps you should leave," Eric suggested, making it perfectly clear that the other man wasn't being given a choice. Elliot could read the anger in the vampire's eyes, tried not to notice how sharp the fangs were, and she gave Alcide a gentle push.

"You should go," she told him unhappily. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Alcide refused to be moved by Elliot's attempt, however, and he turned a stony expression onto Eric. "You have no right to dictate her life," he said, much less adept at keeping his anger out of his voice than Eric.

"Alcide," Elliot said quickly, reminded strongly of Hal from a few nights ago. Was this going to be it, then? Her life from now on? Every time a guy got close Eric would scare him away? A few months ago that would have been brilliant but now it was just fucking _great_. "Just...just go. It's not worth it. I'll call you tomorrow."

"You will _not_," Eric said at once, eyes flashing.

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want, Northman," Elliot growled at him. Alcide looked somewhat appeased by her refusal to be dominated by the blond but he still didn't look happy about leaving her with him. "I'll call you tomorrow," she added to Alcide, her voice a lot softer.

Alcide's green eyes were fixed on Eric in a glare. "Call me tonight," he amended, and Elliot nodded, ignoring Eric's hiss of anger. "If you hurt her, fanger, I will rip you to shreds," Alcide promised, his apparent loyalty to Eric forgotten. He turned to Elliot and touched her cheek very lightly before walking away and closing the door.

She watched him go, trying not to be scared of Eric and failing miserably, trying not to feel empty now that Alcide was gone and failing miserably. "What the fucking hell do you want?" she demanded of the vampire, finally turning to look at him. His fangs were still out and he still looked just as angry as before but it did nothing to quell Elliot's own fury and the TV switched off with a small pop. Somewhere in the back of her mind Elliot hoped it would turn on again; if she'd fried the circuits she'd be even madder at Eric.  
>"You're not to see the werewolf again," Eric said coldly and Elliot's eyes went wide.<p>

"What? _Werewolf_?" Dark eyes tracked across the room, the route Alcide had taken to leave, and they settled on the door for a few seconds. She shook her head. "Werewolves don't exist." It must have been some weird, vampire insult thing. Must've been. Even though she knew, somehow, that Eric wasn't lying.

He himself looked surprised. "He didn't tell you? I thought he would have; you seemed to be getting to know each other quite well." His tone was cutting and it did nothing to relieve the anger Elliot felt at him, anger that was beginning to swell towards Alcide as well.

"The wolf at my door? Last week? That was..."

"Alcide, yes. I thought he would make a better guard as a wolf," Eric told her before his face became a worryingly blank mask. "Evidently I was right."

Elliot was silent, glaring at Eric and wishing he would disappear into the netherworld. In truth, Alcide _should_ have told her (if Eric was telling the truth, and she didn't really want to believe that he was) but she didn't want her anger at this stupid, commanding, annoying, controlling _prat_ of a vampire to disappear; he deserved her fury. He'd earned it fair and square. "Well at least he never claimed to _own_ me like some fucking car," she said hotly, remembering why she was mad at him. "At least he doesn't come bursting into my house without warning - at least he never stationed damn _guards_ at my door to keep me locked inside."

"No," Eric said, cutting her off, his anger matching her own though his was being carefully controlled while Elliot's was stirring the air around them into a wind. "He _was_ the guard at the door."

"Only because you _put_ him there!" Elliot's retort came quickly but she was distracted as the book she'd been reading earlier and had set on the table burst into flames. "_Shit_!" She leapt backwards and ran to the kitchen, filling a bowl with water and carrying it back, throwing it over the small fire. It went out at once and she sighed, slumping onto the couch she had not long ago shared with Alcide. The book was ruined and she'd never even gotten to finish it. "You owe me a book," she mumbled, closing her eyes as the inevitable sickness washed over her.

"I didn't set it on fire," Eric pointed out. He'd scooted to the other side of the room when the flames caught and was now staring cautiously at Elliot.

"No but you made me mad so it's your fault," she told him.

"And you angered me, so we're even," Eric countered.

"I didn't do anything to you," Elliot growled before sucking in a quick breath; she was losing control far too often these days, she needed to work on calming herself down. She used to be so good at it, so good at keeping the power at bay, but since everything had turned upside down and her life had become like something from an awful film she'd found that it was always close to the surface, ready to jump out at the slightest thing.

"You think it was a nice little treat for me to see you wrapped up with that dog, do you?" Eric questioned, irritated.

"I don't see what that has to do with anything." Elliot's tone was careful and her gaze was searching as she set it over the vampire. "I'm not your date, Eric," she said, very clearly. "I agreed to work for you, nothing more."

"You agreed to give me your services," he reminded her, stepping closer.

"I agreed under threat of my life," she said hotly. "And, in case it had slipped your notice, I'm no whore. Any _services_ you get from me will be strictly business-related." This wasn't her plan; she was supposed to be convincing Eric she wanted to spend time here, supposed to be convincing him she'd never even _consider_ running away but she was really not good at that, it turned out.

"We never specified that," Eric purred, stepping closer again. Elliot stood up and hopped over the back of the couch so it was between her and the vampire.

"Well I'm specifying it now."

"I thought I told you that I made the rules around here?" Elliot really didn't like the look on Eric's face and she took a quick step back as he shot around the couch to stand in front of her. Her heart was beating quickly, though she wasn't sure what from, and she stumbled back again.

"I rescind y-" Eric's hand had clapped over her mouth before the words came out and this time he really did look furious. Elliot's heart was drumming against her ribs, her back pushed firmly against the wall while her hands lifted to Eric's wrist in a weak attempt to prise his fingers from her lips. She tried thinking that she rescinded his invitation at him but it didn't do anything and Elliot's hands dropped in defeat.

"Know this - if you try that one more time, you will find yourself short several pints of blood and you will never see the inside of your own house again. Do you understand?"

Elliot nodded as well as she could with his hand clamped over the lower half of her face.

"I can't hear you," Eric prompted, eyes flashing.

She scowled at him and his eyebrows arched expectantly. "Yes," she forced out, the word muffled but petulant. Eric's hand remained in place, however, and Elliot tried to jerk herself to the side to be free of him. No such luck. Her panic was beginning to swell, her mind shutting down instinctively, eyes going blank, arms falling limp. She tuned out the world in a familiar process and Eric watched as the life seemingly went out of her. He took a step back as he realised it was he that was causing the change in her but Elliot didn't move again. She had her eyes closed.

"Elliot?" he asked after a few seconds. He had to resist the impulse to shake her and he stepped back again, watching her carefully. "What happened to you?" Eric asked, voice uncharacteristically soft, and it was clear he was referring to 'what happened' in a much broader sense than the past few minutes.

"Nothing." Her voice was tiny; if he had been human he'd have thought it was just her breath escaping her. The dark eyes opened and Elliot straightened, giving herself a slight shake. "Nothing," she repeated, more firmly. "My life has been very boring." Unlike Eric's, she bet; he'd told her he was a thousand years old, he must've had plenty of stories. He knew things historians would give their hands to learn, things that were all stuck in his head where nobody but he could see them. Eric didn't really seem like the sitting down and sharing type. It was one of the few things they had in common.

"Bullshit."

Elliot blinked in surprise at that; while she often been told she had the speaking habits of a sailor she'd never once heard Eric swear and it jolted her. Unbelievably, she started to laugh, running a hand through her spiky locks. Eric watched the movement and he let out a tiny sigh.

"It is so strange to see women with hair so short," he commented unexpectedly. "Once, for a woman to have short hair was a punishment - a humiliation." He reached out and touched Elliot's hair, looking quite far away, and she kept very still as he ran a hand through it to settle at the back of her neck. He could snap it easier than Elliot could open a jar of jam but she tried not to think about that. "It is strange," he said again, softly.

"It was long, once," Elliot found herself telling him. "I had to cut it." It was just too hard to wash blood out of long hair; much easier to be able to stick her head in the sink and rinse it through.

"Why is that?"

Elliot shrugged in response and Eric seemed to come back to himself. "I would like you to come to Fangtasia once a week."

"Why?" Elliot really didn't like that place and she _really_ didn't want to be around vampires (read: Eric) any longer than was absolutely necessary, largely because she was starting to get used to his presence and that was a very dangerous thing indeed. It was, she supposed, sort of good that he'd interrupted her and Alcide because she couldn't afford to get attached, she couldn't afford to get comfortable. Soon she'd be expecting to see Eric's tall form in her living room instead of being surprised by it and that was a familiarity she could not allow herself.

"Because I told you to," Eric said, unimpressed. "I will get in touch to tell you which nights to come in."

"But _why_?" Elliot said again, eyes wider than usual. "You have no need for me to be there."

"Oh but I do," he returned. "You're not much use to me out here and unable to control this gift you have. I'll be in touch." He was gone on the words of his promise before Elliot could even register that he'd moved and she blinked at her empty living room. Why was life never simple?


	9. Being Human

**AN: Hi guys (don't you just love it when I interrupt your reading to give you what you likely think is a completely pointless message? :P) I wanted to say another massive thank you to those who review - I have the next five or so chapters written and seeing the reviews and alerts really spurs me into checking them over and wanting to get them up (though, I'll admit, I do sometimes forget...) and getting them makes me so happy so thank you! **

**I'm currently trying to figure out the timelines for this so I can work it properly - I know I said at the beginning that this takes place around seasons 2/3 but I'm going to rejig that because if I can I'd really love to include the events of season 2 into this fic (because who doesn't love Godric and a bit of Dallas? :P). I haven't figured it out entirely yet but when I do I'll let you know so you can orient yourselves (I know I'm pretty lost myself at the moment and this is all in my head so God knows how you guys feel). **

**We're quite far in by now so if you have the time or the inclination I'd love to hear what you think - of the story in general, of Elliot, of Eric - all of it. I'd rather have reviews than rainbows for breakfast, and I would _love_ rainbows for breakfast.**

**And finally! I'm considering changing the name of this fic to Running For Dead, just to give you a heads up :)**

Elliot got another surprise visitor the next morning. The knock on the door came a little after she'd woken up and she'd just stepped out of the shower when it sounded. The familiar panic rose inside her and she froze for a second before dressing at lightning speed, not bothering to dry herself fully, hair dripping down her neck. Should she pack any of her things before leaving? Elliot glanced around the room and seized a backpack as the knock sounded again, lighter than how Michael would knock (would Michael even knock?) but who else could it be?

She wasn't thinking straight enough to hazard a guess and Elliot focused solely on packing her things before rushing from the room and creeping down the stairs. She stopped at one of the windows, looking outside to spot the top of a blonde, female head; definitely not Michael. Feeling weak with relief, Elliot dropped the bag and hurried down the rest of the stairs to open the door.

Sookie, the waitress from Merlotte's, telepath and girlfriend of 'Vampire Bill', was standing on the porch. Elliot stared at her blankly even as the blonde offered a dazzling smile.

"Sorry to bother you!" she said cheerfully. "I just thought I'd stop by and make sure Eric hadn't done anything too...well, too much like Eric." It was a nice thought, admittedly, and Elliot was taken aback that anyone had thought of her of her at all, though grateful nonetheless.

"Right," she said, nodding. A forced smile pulled at her lips, too late to be polite but it was an attempt at least. "Sorry, I thought - I thought you were someone else." Sookie's eyes had trailed over Elliot's dripping hair, the messy clothing she'd pulled on in a hurry, the guarded look on the young woman's face. "Um...not to be rude, or anything, but...how the hell did you know where I lived?" Elliot asked in as casual a voice as she could muster.

"Oh right – sorry," Sookie said quickly, flushing a little. "I just asked around a bit – I knew this house had been up for sale a while back and there aren't many around here so I just sort of guess. It's not too hard to find out where the new people are," she added somewhat wryly before her expression grew serious. "Are you alright?"

Elliot nodded, an instinctive reaction to such a question, though the fact that she'd been so easy to find worried her. It was something she ought to have considered, being as that Bon Temps was such a small town, but it hadn't even crossed her mind. "You can come in, if you like," she offered after a beat, stepping back to let Sookie pass. The blonde did so with a smile of thanks and Elliot led the way to the small kitchen. "Um...Coffee?"

"Sure," Sookie agreed, stepping over to the machine. "I can do it - I'm sorry to have interrupted you, I'll let you get on and finish getting ready."

Elliot blinked, surprised again. "Okay, thanks," she said, disappearing from the room. She headed back upstairs and towel-dried her hair, running a hand through it to move it back off her face. She changed the now damp clothes for a pair of jeans and an old shirt that she left open over a white tank top. Tugging on socks and her boots, she tromped back downstairs, fingers moving nervously through her hair as she wandered back into the kitchen.

Sookie had set out two cups of coffee and Elliot sank into a chair, reaching for the sugar bowl and dumping two spoonfuls into the liquid. "Thank you," she said gratefully, lifting her eyes to meet the waitress' blue ones.

"It's not a problem." Sookie was practically glowing with an unexplained happiness and she couldn't contain her smile as she sat there and sipped at her cup, eyes on Elliot. Seeming to realise that her staring was a little strange, Sookie let out a small laugh. "Sorry, I just - it's so strange, not being able to hear you. I mean, you're _human_, right?"

Elliot nodded. "I hope so."

"It's so great. The only others I can't hear are the vampires and, well - you know how they can be."

Elliot gave a low laugh at that; even after a few short days she did, indeed, know how they could be. "Unfortunately I do," she replied, tipping her cup and relishing the hot coffee as it moved through her. "Well, that's not fair. I've only met Eric so far. And your Bill, for like a second." And the blonde vampire outside Fangtasia but Elliot didn't know her name and she'd not exactly _met_her; it was more passing.

"Well, they're very nice, sometimes, but they can be a bit..." Sookie cast around for the right word and Elliot's eyebrow arched.

"Controlling? Possessive? Manipulative?" she supplied before giving a hollow laugh. "I got a longer list if you want."

"No - that works." Sookie was still smiling and she kept blinking at Elliot as though she couldn't believe the brunette existed. "Eric is, especially - he's not really accepted all of modern life. Just the good bits - cell phones, businesses, money, attention from adoring fang-bangers." At the last one Sookie rolled her eyes and Elliot couldn't help but laugh.

"They're weird, aren't they?" she said, largely to make conversation.

"_Really_weird," Sookie agreed. "What do they get from crawling around at his feet?"

Elliot shook her head. "I'm damned if I know," she replied, taking another sip of coffee. "I mean, he's gorgeous, yeah - you'd be a fool not to notice. But he's a dick." Which negated any (well, most) attraction to him, in Elliot's opinion.

"Well, I guess they don't know the last part yet," Sookie allowed, smiling over the rim of her cup.

"It's pretty obvious," Elliot said, thinking of Eric at Fangtasia. "It's hardly a nice guy that lords himself over everyone on a throne."

"True." They settled into silence for a short time, both women sipping at their coffee and neither feeling the need to interrupt the blessed quiet.

"So...a telepath," Elliot said eventually; she had to admit, she was curious. "You can hear peoples' thoughts?"

"Yeah," Sookie said, nodding, and Elliot's expression became a grimace.

"That must suck," she said bluntly.

Ever the optimist, Sookie gave a small shrug. "It has advantages," she said fairly. "Saved my life a fair few times."

"Doesn't stop it from sucking," Elliot pointed out, leaning forward slightly. "And the vampires are the only ones you can't hear? Except me, that is."

"Yep. I guess because they're dead they just don't have brainwaves or something." From the way she said it, Elliot could tell that a lot of frustratingly fruitless thought had gone into wondering exactly why she couldn't hear them.

"And - shifters, was it?" That was what Eric had called them the other night. "You can't hear them the same? What's a shifter, anyway?"

"No, I can't. A shifter is a person who can turn into an animal," Sookie explained patiently, understanding exactly how it felt to be lost amidst all the new things that came to light when you got involved with the vampires, willingly or otherwise.

"Like a werewolf?" Elliot's question was asked quickly, thoughts lingering on Alcide. She wasn't sure what to think about him right now; she hadn't called him last night, though he'd tried to get through three different times. On the last she'd picked up only long enough to tell him she didn't want to speak to him, and he'd apparently respected that because she didn't have any more missed calls from his number.

"Werewolves are different," came the response and Elliot sat up a little straighter. "They can only turn into wolves, but shifters can turn into anything. The Weres look down on shifters a bit, and they're organised in packs, whereas shifters normally sort of hang around on their own, I think." In the space of a few seconds Sookie had given Elliot more information than Eric had in several days.

"Christ." Elliot sat back in her chair, not sure how much of this she was actually going to absorb. Sookie's smile was sympathetic.

"More coffee?" The blonde set about refilling the cups and Elliot thanked her, adding sugar and running her tongue over her lower lip.

"It's like - you think you know the world," Elliot mused, tapping the edge of the cup gently against her teeth as she thought. "And then it just...it turns around and bites you and you realise you don't have a clue." She'd been speaking mostly to herself but Sookie was nodding understandingly.

"It's a lot to take in," she said gently. It was, and Sookie didn't even know the half of it; in the past few months Elliot's life had gone from pleasant and normal to violent and terrifying with very little space between and she didn't like it one bit. In fact she'd give anything to go back to ten months previous when she had no idea that Michael harboured a deep, sickening violence, before her parents had been ripped from her, before she had a clue that Eric Northman existed. Of course, Elliot didn't say so; she just nodded, taking another sip of coffee and closing her eyes briefly. "So, what are you?" Sookie asked, having clearly been sitting on this question for some time.

Elliot's eyes opened. "Eric didn't tell you?" she asked, surprised. She'd have thought, considering Sookie had been asked to read her mind, that the waitress would have been more in the loop.

Sookie laughed. "Eric? Tell me something important? You must have him confused with someone else. He just told Bill that he needed me to read a human's mind."

"And you just went along with that?" Elliot asked, somewhat annoyed.

The blonde shrugged apologetically. "Eric's the Sheriff - Bill has to do as he says, and I made a deal with him that I'd help him when he needed if he didn't hurt anyone because of it."

"You too, huh?"

Sookie pulled an 'everything will be okay' smile onto her face and rested her chin on her hand as she looked at Elliot. "Really though, what are you? You're not a shifter. Definitely not a vamp."

"I don't know what I am," Elliot admitted

"What's it like?"

"It's like - when I get angry or scared or something, stuff happens." This sounded like a really shit film and Elliot averted her eyes, embarrassed.

"What sort of stuff?" Sookie was incredibly curious, which Elliot could understand; she was planning on quizzing this waitress on her own condition until she ran from the house in frustration.

"I can push things - people - away without touching them. Make a wind, move stuff around. Fires, sometimes - not often, though," Elliot told her, keeping her eyes downwards. "I just...I just affect stuff, really."

Sookie was looking like Christmas had come early. "That's brilliant," she said, before she seemed to think it through and her face fell a little. "In theory. I guess that was hard growing up with too, huh?" Her voice was one of a woman who understood, perhaps better than anyone else, how Elliot felt about her unusual abilities.

"Sort of," Elliot nodded. "I mean, I learned to crush my emotions pretty quickly, but in the beginning I accidentally hurt people and broke things a _lot_. Eric's _real_good at making it happen - I swear he must've taken How To Piss Off Elliot Sanderson 101." Though she knew she couldn't blame it entirely on the vampire; true enough he had a special talent for irritating her, but her emotions had been haywire since Michael had turned into the Michael of her nightmares, and they'd been a lot worse since she'd ran away. Her control had been slipping for months, but it was nice to be able to blame Eric instead of herself.

"I'm so sorry," Sookie breathed, shaking her head. "It's awful, isn't it? Did people think you were crazy?"

"They were scared of me," Elliot shared. "But I think - well, because they could see stuff happening they knew it wasn't in my head. They just thought I was a demon or something so they kept their distance until I learned to hide it." And even then there seemed to be something about her that people just didn't find welcoming. "The people round here call you Crazy Sookie," she mentioned, not realising until after that it was quite a blunt thing to say.

"Yeah, they think I'm messed up in the head," Sookie told her with a tiny laugh that didn't quite cover the small hurt in her voice. She took a sip of coffee before shrugging. "I guess I am. I think people like to convince themselves I'm a nutcase because they just don't want to accept that what's in their head isn't private. It's just...easier. It's easier for me to be crazy."

Elliot gave a small sigh and leant back in her chair. "So how come Eric came to know of your...ability?" Normally she would have referred to something like this as a curse but she wasn't sure if Sookie would take offence at that or not.

"It was my fault. I was at Fangtasia with Bill - I wanted to know if the vampires there knew anything about the women who were killed here-"

"_What_?" Elliot almost choked on her coffee. "When was this?"

"A while back. You didn't know?"

"Of course not! Jesus - I decided to stick around here for a bit because it looked like the most _boring_ place on earth and then I learn you've got telepaths, werewolves, shifters, vampires and goddamn murderers hanging around." Elliot shook her head in disbelief; she had the _worst_luck.

"I guess it's not the sort of thing a realtor would bring up," Sookie mused. "The man's dead now, though." A sort of darkness passed over the blonde's face as she said that and Elliot watched her carefully but the other blinked and was her bright, happy self again so quickly Elliot thought she must've imagined it. "Anyway - we were at Fangtasia and I asked Eric about them, and I overheard some guy thinking about a raid the police were gonna do - he was an undercover cop. I sort of told Eric without thinking and then," Sookie shrugged, "you know how he is."

"That sucks," Elliot said, shaking her head a little.

"How about you, then? You don't seem the sort to bring attention to yourself," Sookie mentioned curiously. It was true; you didn't have to be a mind reader to see that Elliot ducked her head a lot, averted her eyes and held a carefully guarded expression in place at all times.

"A...well, I guess she's a sort of friend of mine - Morgan. She went to Fangtasia one night and got real drunk, and when she phoned me I decided to go and get her before...y'know." Elliot didn't want to say it aloud, didn't really want to accept what vampires could do, but Sookie nodded. "So I went in and she was trying to seduce Eric so I pulled her away before he could do anything, but then he tried to glamour me, which didn't work." It was difficult to keep her voice neutral here; the idea of someone getting into her head and interfering with her thoughts made her furious. It was very lucky for both women that Sookie's trick didn't work on the brunette. "Anyway, he stole my drivers licence and showed up on my doorstep a week later, wanting to know what I was. It happened when he was here - I accidentally threw him across the room when he got a bit close, and he took me back to his stupid club and basically said he'd kill me if I didn't help him out. And so here we are."

It was probably the longest speech Elliot had had since she'd first arrived in Bon Temps; certainly the most she'd said in one go for a long time. Sookie was looking appalled. "That's awful," she said, shaking her head back and forth, as if Elliot didn't know that.

"Yep. I tried to run away the next morning but he'd stuck wolves around my house so I couldn't go anywhere." Somehow, it felt nice to be able to divulge this to someone else; Elliot had a lot of things locked up inside her and adding to the pile only made things worse. At least there were some things that could be shared.

"I'll get Bill to try and speak to him," Sookie promised, looking very serious. "He can't _do_that - at least I volunteered."

"Yeah, well - I'm starting to get the impression that Eric Northman does whatever the fuck he wants and nobody can actually stop him," Elliot said sourly.

"Yeah - he's Sheriff of Area Five so he has quite a lot of pull," Sookie said apologetically.  
>"Sheriff?" Elliot's forehead had creased into a frown. "I didn't know vampires were allowed to be sheriffs around here." Certainly there'd been a lot of debate about whether they should even be allowed to become police officers but Sookie was shaking her head.<p>

"Not like our sort of sheriff," she explained before pausing. "Well, I guess it sort of is. He's a vampire sheriff, so he's in charge of a certain part of territory. I don't really get what he does, but if vampires want to hang out around here I know they have to check with him first, and they owe him loyalty. It's why Bill has to do as he says - because he lives in Eric's Area. And Eric's like, really old."

"Great. So not only do I have a thousand year old vampire on my back - he's the damn authority," Elliot surmised. "Just _great_."

"The good thing is he's interested in you," Sookie said bracingly, determined to find a bright side. "So he won't kill you."

"Oh brilliant - now I feel loads better," Elliot retorted, sarcasm dripping onto the floor. "I can be a tool instead of a corpse." She sighed and slumped back in her chair. "Sorry - it's not your fault."

"No, I understand," Sookie told her hurriedly. "To be honest I'm just glad to have found someone human I can have an actual conversation with without having to concentrate on not hearing your thoughts."

"I'm very glad you can't hear me," she said suddenly, with a sharp nod.

"I'm glad too - you have no idea how peaceful it is to be able to sit here and just _relax_," Sookie sighed, relief evident on her features. "I only really get that with Bill, but we don't get much time to sit and relax."

And sit and relax they did; Sookie didn't have to work her shift until later on that evening and Elliot was yet to find a job, so the two women sat and appreciated the company. They talked a little more about what Eric might want, about vampire politics and about werewolves. The two dwelled on how the world had changed since the Great Revelation. Sookie told Elliot about Bill and Elliot told Sookie that she didn't want to share her past, which the blonde accepted wordlessly. They sat and talked and laughed and practised being human, if only for the brief time that they could.

**AN: (Yes, another one - aren't you lucky?) Please review and tell me what you think thus far - even just a quick 'Cool' or 'Crap' - feedback is greatly needed over here and y'all are the ones who can give it! Next chapter is written and needs to be checked for general inconsistencies and whatnot but it should be up within the week provided I remember (I tend to get caught up in the actual writing and then forget to do the whole posting part...)**


	10. Testing The Water

**A/N: Is this...can it be? An update in less than a week? Is it the end of the world? But seriously, thank you guys so much for the reviews on the last chapter! It's so lovely to hear that you're enjoying this fic because I love writing it (possibly too much...). Lots of Eric in this chapter, to make up for the slightly dull chapter nine :P**

Sookie had, somehow, talked Elliot into accompanying her to Merlotte's, and so it was that the brunette found herself leaning against the bar and making Sam Merlotte's acquaintance. She could tell, somehow, that he wasn't fully human, but it was too light outside for him to be a vampire and Elliot didn't actually want to dwell on it too much either way.

"Pleased to meet you," she told him politely as he shook her hand with his own very warm one.

"You too," Sam replied guardedly, his gaze moving towards Sookie, expression questioning. "Can I talk to you for a second?" he asked, jerking his head towards the back. The blonde followed him through the door behind the bar and Elliot tapped her fingers against the counter, suddenly unsure of herself. She shouldn't be here; Eric had walked in last time and the smell of the alcohol would soon begin to stir up memories she'd rather stayed buried. And yet she stayed. She remained on the bar stool, eyes wandering over the bottles on display before she turned to observe the people who'd come to eat.

"Elliot!" The voice was vaguely familiar and Elliot turned to see Hal striding towards her, face bright with a smile. To her surprise he actually seemed pleased to see her and she lifted a hand in a wave. Hal settled himself on the stool next to her and fixed her with a probing look. "Are you alright? I'm so sorry I left the other night - I don't even know what I was thinking, I just - I just figured-"

"Don't worry," Elliot said, shaking her head; it was probably best not to tell him he'd been glamoured.

"Well I did worry," Hal retorted, though good-humouredly. "That vamp didn't hurt you, did he?"

Elliot shook her head.

"Good." Not that Hal could do anything if he had, a fact that both of them were very aware of. "Um...can I get you a drink?"

Elliot looked across at him, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. It wasn't a good idea to let Hal get involved; it was a terrible idea to let anyone get involved. She supposed that she'd been lucky, in a way, that Eric had stopped anything from happening between her and Alcide because she really couldn't afford to get attached. More than that - the people who got involved with her got hurt. It was why Morgan needed to be kept at arm's length, though when the blonde insisted on landing herself in trouble and turning to Elliot for help it wasn't like the latter had much choice.

"Hal...listen," she began, and the man sighed. He obviously knew what was coming. "I'm not good for you. I'm not good for anyone - trouble just seems to follow me around. You saw Eric the other night - I won't let you get hurt because you got close."

"I don't care if I get hurt," he said stoutly, eyes flashing. "And what can a pretty girl like you have to do with vampires, anyway? Why does trouble follow you around? It's not right."

"I can't explain it," Elliot told him regretfully. "I'm really sorry - you seem like a such nice guy but...I just can't. Eric's bad news to anyone who crosses him and I think if you and I got any closer he'd not like you one bit."

"Why - you a fang-banger?" Hal looked horrified at the thought, but Elliot could tell that he didn't believe it even as he spoke.

She shook her head. "No way," she said firmly.

"Then what's he want with you?"

"I wish I could tell you." And it was true, but mostly because Elliot wished she knew herself. All she knew was that he wanted her for something and he was acting like a jealous boyfriend, which was something he had no right to act like and Elliot wasn't going to allow him to forget it.

"You _can_," Hal insisted, leaning slightly towards her. Elliot stiffened, shifting ever so slightly back on her stool, and Hal looked wounded. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Elliot said and she shook her head; she needed to learn how to better hide her anxieties. "Just leave it, Hal. I'm sorry but you can't buy me a drink; you shouldn't even talk to me." Her voice was sharper than she'd intended it to be and Hal stood abruptly.

"Fine," he huffed, turning to stalk away. Elliot deflated, setting her arms on the bar and resting her head on them. She told herself sternly that it was for the best but she couldn't forget the look of hurt that had flashed over his face; Hal had only been trying to be nice and she had shoved him away. _For the best_. Why was it that what was best for everyone else always seemed to make her feel like shit?

She let out a muffled groan and pulled herself upright. She should just head home.

"So what are you?" a different voice asked and Elliot's eyes strayed behind the bar to look at Sam. He'd apparently finished talking with Sookie; the blonde was off serving customers and his blue eyes were fixed on Elliot.

"You know I'm getting pretty tired of being asked that," she retorted, stung. "I'm a human, alright?"

"Right, sorry," Sam said quickly, putting out a hand as though she was pointing a gun at him. "Didn't mean to offend you."

"Yeah I'll bet." From the wary look on his face Elliot was pretty sure Sookie had told him what she was; he seemed on edge and she could only assume it was because he was afraid she was going to blow something up. "Jesus Christ, I'm not a psycho," she said, irritated. Standing abruptly, Elliot turned on her heel and left, leaving Sam looking sheepish behind the bar and ignoring Sookie's yell of 'wait!'. She was tired of all the bullshit - everywhere she went people were freaked out by her, avoided her, thought she was a weirdo.

The truth was, Elliot felt like a freak. There's only a certain amount of times you can be called something before you start to believe it and that had happened when was about ten years old. It had gotten easier as she grew older, as she'd gained more control, but recently things had gone right back up shit creek and she didn't have a boat, let alone a damn paddle.

She kicked a tree to vent her anger before making her way to her shitty old car, glaring at it all the while. Everything she had was _shit_, everything she did was _shit_ and Elliot would like nothing more than to punch the crap out of something. She shuddered with a violent sigh, throwing herself into the driver's seat and closing her eyes, working on calming herself down; the car started up without using the ignition and Elliot drew in a deep breath through her nose. Hold it. Out through her mouth. Repeat.

It took several minutes but she eventually felt calm enough to open her eyes. Eric was standing by the window.

"Holy fucking _shit_!" she cried out, leaping sideways to land awkwardly (and incredibly painfully) over the gear shift and half on the passenger's seat. "Don't _do_ that! _Christ_."

He was laughing and then suddenly he was at the other door, opening it and carefully rearranging Elliot back into her seat so he could take the other. "You're lucky you didn't push it into drive," he commented, eyes on the gear shift.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, turning to look at him. "I warn you - I'm in a shit mood and I really can't be arsed with your crap tonight."

"You started this car?" he asked and Elliot shook her head at him.

"No, answer my question." She was tired of him returning everything she asked with a question of his own; she deserved answers - she'd been dragged into all this shit and she was the least aware of them all.

"I came to see you," Eric replied. "Is that so wrong?"

"Well the last time you came to see me you threatened me so yes, it is. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm pissed at you. You're a dick and I'm fucking _tired_ of meeting no-one but dicks in my life. I mean - am I just a fucking _magnet_ for them or something? Because it damn well seems like it and I'm _sick_ of all this _bullshit_." She thumped the steering wheel with a fist, letting out an angry breath,

Eric blinked at the outburst, taken aback. "Who else?"

"What?"

"Who else have you met who's a dick?" he reiterated.

So he was admitting he was a dick? Elliot wasn't sure if she thought that was a good thing or a bad thing. "None of your business," she said hotly.

"I'm sorry if I upset you," Eric said stiffly, after a long moment of silence. It was very clear that he wasn't sorry at all but thought that was what she wanted to hear. It only annoyed her more.

"Don't apologise unless you're actually sorry," she told him coldly. "There's no point otherwise."

Eric was silent and Elliot glared at the steering wheel, wondering how he'd react if she told him to get out of her car. Probably not kindly. He'd been lenient with her outburst thus far but she didn't want to push him; he could snap her neck before she could say Jack Robinson and she really didn't want to go down that route.

"Really, Eric; what are you doing here?" Her voice was tired; she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to go home.

"Like I said; I came to see you," he replied. "Your ability is currently out of control - it springs up when you get emotional and it causes a random effect on your surroundings that you again have no control over," he summarised fairly accurately. Elliot gave a stiff nod. "I wish to change that."

"You and me both, mate," she mumbled, leaning her head back against the seat. It suddenly occurred to her that the car was still running but she had the keys in her hand.

"_Mate_?" His offence at the word was tangible and Elliot glanced over at him.

"Relax," she said, rolling her eyes. "Not literally. We're not mates. It's just...I dunno, it's just something people stick on the end of sentences."

"We could be mates," Eric pointed out with a sly expression.

"Or we couldn't," Elliot suggested calmly. "I don't think there's much room in this vampire-is-a-dick-to-the-human relationship for mateyness. Sorry."

"Don't apologise unless you're actually sorry," Eric mimicked in a cruel impression of her voice.

"Alright, I take it back. I'm not sorry; I don't want to be your mate." And she was getting irritated all over again.

"Maybe you'll change your mind," he suggested.

"Unlikely."

"But possible," Eric pointed out with an arched eyebrow.

"Anything's possible, Eric," Elliot returned, bored of this conversation and bored of this stupid town with its stupid vampires and its stupid drama.

"I'm glad you think so," he nodded. "Because anything _is_ possible, Elliot. Particularly with you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're not ordinary," Eric stated and Elliot scowled.

"Thanks for reminding me," she said sarcastically and she could almost feel Eric's surprise shift the air.

"That's not a bad thing," he told her and she gave a derisive snort.

"Right. Not a bad thing. Tell that to the ten year old who got called a freak every day. Tell that to the teenager who never got asked out 'cause she was the weirdo. Tell that to the girl who learned to fucking hate herself because that's what everyone else did," Elliot snapped, not entirely sure where these outbursts were coming from. This one she regretted at once; it gave too much away, it was too personal, but she couldn't take it back now. Instead she closed her eyes and fell silent.

"I've upset you again."

"Well fucking spotted," Elliot retorted sharply.

"You're angry."

Great, pointing-out-the-obvious Eric had decided to show up. That made this evening so much more fun. Not. Elliot heaved a sigh and shook her head. "You need to go," she told the vampire, not looking at him. "I want to go home. I'm tired, I'm fed up and I'm pissed off - you're not making things any better."

"I didn't mean to piss you off," Eric said carefully, not leaving. "I came to see you for a reason."

"Are you actually going to tell me what that is or are you going to do your thing and just ask stupid questions until you leave?" Elliot asked, praying for patience. She needed a cigarette. Ignoring Eric, her hands move automatically for the inside pocket where the two boxes were kept; she slid out a cigarette and held it between her lips while she struck a match and lit it. There was a second when the back of her mind flashed with a warning that it was rude to smoke around other people before she remembered that it wouldn't actually affect Eric in the slightest.

"That will kill you, you know," he advised after several seconds, during which Elliot had inhaled and blown the smoke out of the open window.

"I don't give a shit," she said coldly.

"I want you to try something," Eric said after another few moments. Elliot rolled her eyes.

"And what, exactly, would that be?" she asked suspiciously.

"Try turning off the engine."

With a slight frown Elliot reached to do so, the keys clinking together, before Eric had reached out to catch hold of her hand. "Not with those," he said, taking them from her and sliding them into his own pocket. "Try it with your mind."

"I can't do that," she said at once, shaking her head and flicking the cigarette stub out the window. "I can't control it, as you so kindly pointed out. I'll probably end up blowing something up."

"No you won't. Try it."

After a quick scowl at him Elliot closed her eyes after resisting the urge to roll them. She didn't have a clue how to even go about trying to turn an engine off and Eric wasn't offering any helpful tips (not that she'd have listened if he had) so she just focused on the thrumming of the live engine that she could feel through her seat. Perhaps because of her curse, Elliot had always been good at sensing energy - she could tell when a storm was brewing and she could tell when tensions shifted in a room, that sort of thing. This was different but she found that after several minutes of intense concentration she could feel the energy that was the engine, pumping life through the car. Once she'd found it, she was able to feel it with every inch of her being and the girl's breath escaped her quickly.

"Holy shit," she said, eyes still closed, heart beating quickly. She felt _incredible_. Suddenly, Elliot knew she could do anything - anything she wanted. She could turn the whole damn world on its axis if she wanted because she was just so _full_ of energy - she wanted to run and dance and sing and jump around. She wanted to do something - _anything_. "This...is amazing." Her voice was breathless and Eric was sure he detected a faint glow about her skin.

"Don't get carried away," he said softly. "Try to turn the engine off."

Turn it _off_? But she _loved_ this energy - this was life itself and she could feel it like she'd never felt it before. "I'm _alive_, Eric," she breathed and she shivered with sheer delight.

"Yes," he said dryly. "I'd noticed. Now try and turn the engine off."

She didn't want to; she wouldn't. She loved this energy - this feeling. Elliot wasn't ever letting it go; she'd sit here forever and bask in the very fact that she was so alive, that so much _life_ was flowing through her, making her feel giddy and grounded at once. "You're not the boss of me," she mumbled and if Eric hadn't known better he'd have said she was drunk.

He decided to ignore her comment. Elliot's head lolled to one side and her lips curled in a smile he'd never seen her wear before; it lit up her face and made her look truly happy. It was only then that he realised how unhappy she must actually be, but he pushed the thoughts away; he could focus on those later.

"Eric I can feel my heartbeat in my fingertips," she whispered, and she lifted her hands to underline the point. Gently, he pressed his own fingertips to hers and noted that he could, in fact, feel her heartbeat through them, though he'd have been able to on any given day had she allowed him the chance. "I'm _alive_," she said again, wondrously.

Eric hummed noncommittally and he bent his fingers so they wrapped around hers, using his other hand to retrieve the car keys. Leaning over Elliot's oddly glowing body, he pushed the key into the ignition and turned the car off. Abruptly, Elliot's breath escaped her and she slumped to the side looking very pale.

"Uugh," she groaned with her eyes still closed. Fumbling for the door handle, she got it open and fell out onto the gravel. "I think I might be sick." But she wasn't; instead her body gave in to the sudden exhaustion that overcame her and she lay down on the painful stones with a soft sigh, hardly noticing as Eric appeared by her side.

"Well, that was unexpected," he commented, turning her over so she was facing the night sky. Elliot's eyes flickered open and she tried to focus on the face above her.

"Are you an angel?" she asked blearily and Eric's laugh echoed around the lot, loud and careless.

"Far from it," he told her, and she slipped away.

**A/N: (I'm making a habit of these, hope you guys don't mind) So, please let me know what you thought! I've been getting worried that Eric's in this **_**too**_** much, you know? I don't know if you prefer it when he's in pretty much every chapter or not but I've been conscious of the fact that he's **_**always there**_** (much to Elliot's disgust) so...yeah, let me know if that's okay or if I should send him away every now and then?**


	11. Carry Me Home Tonight

**AN: Sorry this took me so long to get up! I don't even have an excuse; I'm just that lazy.**

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><p>She wasn't out for very long. Eric had only time to pull her into a sitting position and lean her against the car when her eyes flickered open again. Elliot was frowning at once and the vampire gave a small (and unnecessary) sigh.<p>

"You looked so much more relaxed when you were asleep," he commented. Elliot shrugged carelessly.

"There's a lot more to be relaxed about when you're asleep," she said groggily, shifting and glancing at the ground beneath her. Dark eyes blinked in confusion and she curled her fingers into the gravel before looking up at the blond Viking. "Why am I lying in the parking lot?"

It was Eric's turn to look confused. "You don't remember?"

"Should I?" What was it with them and their constant questions? It hadn't escaped Elliot's notice that the pair of them seemed utterly incapable of holding a normal conversation and it irritated her to no end, despite the fact that she was partially to blame (though she held that Eric was more infuriating because his questions were usually posed to avoid answering, whereas hers were normally on a need-to-know basis).

"Probably," Eric told her, expression curious. "What's the last thing you do remember?"

Elliot cast her mind back before the small blackness that had taken over her brain. "We were in my car, you told me to turn the engine off," she said slowly. "I sort of...I don't know – I remember feeling _great_ – feeling _alive_. I'm not sure...why – I just remember feeling like I could do anything, like I could _be_ anything." Her thoughts were confusing, her words coming out more so because she wasn't thinking before she spoke but Eric was nodding understandingly.

"Yes, you said something along those lines." His tone was all dry amusement and Elliot's gaze flashed across to him as his expression became sly. "Among other things."

"What?" She blinked, hard, and stared at him fiercely. "What did I say?"

"That's for me to know," he said maddeningly.

"_Eric_."

"You're not the boss of me," he mimicked, before gaining his feet in a fluid motion that Elliot could barely process. "Can you stand?" A pale hand was being offered regardless but Elliot hauled herself to her feet by leaning heavily on her car, and Eric's hand fell back to his side.

"I'm not an invalid," she muttered, though her statement would have had more grounds if she hadn't been leaning against her car. Taking a quick breath to steady herself, Elliot slid into the driver's seat and patted a pocket. "Where are my keys?"

Eric's eyebrows lifted. "You're not driving," he told her firmly.

Elliot turned to scowl at him. "Give me my keys, Eric."

"You are not driving home," he said, very clearly.

Elliot's scowl deepened and any lesser man would have caved but Eric simply stood there, watching her. After a few seconds he lifted the key ring that had on it her means of driving home and her way inside. He twirled them teasingly for a second before slipping them into a pocket. "I'll drive," he suggested, and Elliot snorted.

"No way. Give me my keys."

"It's not going to happen," Eric told her, looking only mildly offended at her refusal to allow him to drive. "I'm an excellent driver."

"Hmm." Elliot distinctly remembered the vampire driving her home and she didn't think she was likely to ever forget exactly how fast he'd shot around the corners, full of the careless abandon that came of being immortal. Seeing, however, that he was not going to give in, Elliot grabbed the edge of the car and pulled herself out, banging the door shut with her hip. The bump hurt and somewhere at the back of her mind the sensible Elliot made a note that she ought to eat more; she'd lost far too much weight recently and was only just beginning to remember what it was like to be hungry. Michael had stolen her appetite long ago and she'd gone from being well-proportioned to having her hip-bones push against the waistband of her jeans. It was not a pleasant sight, but Elliot took cares not to look at herself in mirrors too often so it hardly mattered. "Fine then. I'll walk – but I'll need my house key."

"You're not walking alone," Eric said as though the idea was laughable, and Elliot sighed; she was growing very tired of being bossed around.

"I'm hardly going to be axe-murdered – it'll take ten minutes."

"Nevertheless," Eric said dryly, reaching to lock the car door. "I'll walk with you."

"There's _really_ no need-"

"I insist."

His words signalled that there was to be no more argument and Elliot bit her lip; she really wanted him to go. Not just because he had a knack for irritating her but because she felt tired to her bones and wasn't exactly going to be able to walk very well; that wasn't something she wanted Eric witnessing.

"Well then we're walking at _my_ pace," she grumbled, setting off with her left hand out to the car to steady herself. She could feel Eric's eyes on her, so made the effort to stand up straight and focused on putting one foot in front of the other – why in hell was she so tired?

"We'd get there a lot faster if I carried you," he pointed out, making an effort to keep his strides level with hers.

"I'm sure we would," Elliot commented, her words clearly not an invitation.

"And yet you insist that we walk this slowly?"

"Yes I do," she said with relish. "You could always pop back off to your club if you don't like it." The suggestion was hopeful.

"No; this is fine." Eric's tone was stiff; clearly it wasn't fine but he was too stubborn to leave. Elliot scowled at the ground but made no further comment; her legs were working twice as hard to hold her up and her mind was desperate to drift off in a dream that lasted a day or three. She was struggling to push through the mental fog that surrounded the past few minutes; she could remember feeling fantastic and then she remembered waking up on the ground. If Eric hadn't looked so displaced himself Elliot would have suspected foul play on his part but there was something else - something she was missing.

The dark eyes blinked heavily and her pace slowed, even as Elliot mentally scolded herself. _Don't think, just walk_, she thought. _Don't_. Step. _Think_. Step. _ Just_. Step. _Walk_. Step. She repeated it over and over, watching her boots as they made their way down the road that led to her house. Normally she could jog it in a couple of minutes; right now it felt like an Olympic effort.

"Elliot?" Eric's voice came from a long way off and for a startled moment Elliot thought she'd left him behind on the track but a glance to her right affirmed that he was just beside her.

She hummed at him, not trusting herself to form words.

"You're not up to this." It was a blank statement but it made Elliot angry enough that she was able to pick up her shoulders.

"I'm not weak," she gritted out.

"I didn't say that," Eric countered calmly. "But you're exhausted - obviously honing this ability of yours is going to take more work than I originally thought."

That sounded ominous but Elliot couldn't find the energy to form the words to ask him to explain himself so she remained silent. _Don't think_. _Just walk_. She didn't want to think about her freakiness, nor about why the hell Eric was so damn interested. It was weird and creepy and she hated the power she harboured; she'd spent her life trying to quash it and now this vampire was intent on digging it all up. Unfortunately, he was actually very good at doing just that and it had taken him only a few short weeks to take all of Elliot's carefully gathered control and scatter it like ashes on the wind.

"_Elliot_." This time his voice was a reprimand but the girl continued doggedly on her way - one foot in front of the other. Her legs felt easily as heavy as a sackload of bricks apiece and her shoes were dragging along the road but she kept up; she kept on. She determinedly ignored Eric, moving only to slap his hand away as he reached out to help her.

"I'm _fine_," she insisted, trying to sound furious but the words came out sounding exactly as exhausted as she was.

"You're _not _- I don't know why you're insisting that you are." Eric was pissed. "I don't think you're weak and, let's be honest here, why would you care if I did?" He paused for a second to allow his question to sink in a little before skirting around to stand directly in her way. "I do think, however, that you're going to wear yourself out walking home and then you'll be useless for longer. If you'd let me help you, you'd not waste the energy and you'll be up and about in no time."

"So I'm useless?" Elliot questioned, forcing herself to meet his gaze. "Thanks."

Eric rolled his eyes. "You _would_focus on that part," he muttered.

"It's fine - I know I am," she said in a falsely cheery voice. Coupled with her lack of energy, it just sounded disjointed and slightly insane. Elliot was trying to ignore that fact.

"You're not useless - you really think I'd spend all this time with you if you were?" Eric demanded, sidestepping to block her way as Elliot tried to slip around him.

"And there was me thinking you were here for my winning personality," she retorted. Eric was clearly not about to move so Elliot, with a deep scowl, sat down. The vampire stared at her.

"What are you doing?"

"Having a rest. Feel free to piss off any time," she told him, closing her eyes and shifting along the road so she was sat at the side of it. "Why are you even listening to what I'm saying anyway? Why do you care what pace I walk home at? Eric Northman seems to me the type of guy who does whatever he pleases and woe betide everyone who gets in his way." As it was, Elliot was more than just shocked at the fact that he'd deigned to walk alongside her rather than snatching her up and vampire-ing his way to her house.

"I don't want you to hate me," he said unexpectedly. After a pause, Eric folded himself to sit beside her and Elliot resisted the urge to punch him, if only because she thought she'd probably break her wrist if she tried. "You're getting your suit dirty," she said instead, quite uncaringly and ignoring his previous comment.

"I'll buy another." He said it so freely; money no object. Elliot hated him for it. "Why are you angry?"

"I'm not angry." It was a lie; she was furious in the pit of her stomach but if Elliot was honest she didn't know why. She just knew she was irritated and tired and she wanted very much to let Eric carry her home but her pride simply wouldn't allow it.

"Yes you are."

"Alright I am. So what?"

"_Why_are you angry?"

"Why are you here?" Elliot felt like she asked that question a lot but she never got a straight answer.

"This town isn't as peaceful as it seems," Eric told her. "More people have died here in the past year than you'd believe and you'd be a perfect target."

Elliot frowned. "Why?"

"Well - look at you." Eric said it as though that ought to be answer enough but, after a quick look down at herself, Elliot frowned at him.

"I don't get it."

"You're a female, for one thing - they always seem to get attacked more often than men. You're tiny, an easy target, and you've just got this _look_about you," Eric said, waving a hand at her. Elliot's frown deepened; this was definitely bordering on more than just creepy and it was also a little frightening - she'd never considered herself to be vulnerable before, priding herself, always, on being strong, but Eric's words rang horribly true in the still night air.

"A _look_?"

"Yes." Eric nodded slowly and he turned to look very seriously at her. "This look - like you're already being hunted." He looked like he was about to say more but Elliot shuddered and closed her eyes; whatever he had to say, she didn't want to hear it.

There was a very long moment of silence before she spoke. "I'm not being hunted," she said quietly, but the pause had been too long, and in any case it had been clear to Eric from the start that she'd been running from something. What that something was, exactly, was something he very much wanted to know, but Elliot was certainly not the sharing type. He'd find out eventually.

Elliot got to her feet feeling a little steadier than before, though after Eric's small revelation she found that she was glancing nervously into the shadows every other second. Of course, with the hulking vampire by her side she wasn't going to be attacked by anything smarter than a brain-dead squirrel but she was nervous nonetheless.

"So - why did I get so tired?" she asked when they'd moved a few yards and she decided she felt alright enough to talk. It was amazing what a few moments of rest could do for the body.

"I turned the car off," Eric admitted, looking (surprisingly) sheepish. "I didn't realise what it would do, but I think you sort of...absorbed the energy from the engine, and when that went it left you empty." That was his best guess, anyway, and it was better than anything Elliot had to offer.

Quite suddenly, she remembered falling against the car door, feeling nauseous. She remembered gravel cutting into her knees and the sudden silence of the air that signalled that the engine had been cut. Elliot nodded. "I never knew I could do that," she said, suddenly, feeling quite pleased with herself. Sure, it hadn't ended so well but she really needed a bright side right now. "Taking energy from something else, I mean. It was brilliant."

"It was," Eric agreed, seemingly more for her benefit than because he actually cared too much. "You were sort of glowing - I've never seen you smile like that before, either."

"You've never seen me smile, period." Because Eric normally came bearing bad news or commands or his arrogant tones and they weren't things that made her want to smile. But he was being alright at the moment, and she had to admit that she felt a lot safer with him walking beside her, even if his irritation at the pace was practically coming off him in waves.

"It's a shame." His words drifted onto the air like he hadn't really meant for them to come out, and Elliot pretended she hadn't heard him speak.

They rounded a corner and Elliot's house came into view at the end of her driveway. Eric walked her right up to the door, like a gentleman would after a nice date, and Elliot turned to look awkwardly at him after he'd handed her the key. "So...bye," she said with a weird little wave that looked like she'd gotten a twitch in her palm more than anything else.

"Goodnight." And then he was gone. Elliot fumbled her key into the lock and stepped inside with a yawn she'd been containing for ages. Not bothering with anything else, she headed upstairs and fell into bed fully clothed, where she slept for thirteen straight hours.

The next afternoon, when she got up, she noticed that her car had been parked outside and the key was on the table, lying on top of a note written in an elegant hand.

_Don't try anything with that engine on your own. _  
><em>I'll see you at Fangtasia on Friday night. Dress appropriately.<em>

_E._

**AN: So...hopefully that was worth the wait. If it wasn't...I'm sorry; hit me with something. I have a hilarious image of Eric trying to drive Elliot's tiny car in my head and it makes me laugh every time – he's so tall, can you imagine him trying to fold up behind the wheel, his knees practically up by his ears? It probably wouldn't start at first as well so he'd be in the lot, trying again and again to get the engine to catch, growing more and more pissed off - it makes me smile to think about it anyway.**

**Title is a lyric from the song We Are Young by Fun. I've been thinking of going back and renaming the chapters with lyrics and giving the song at the end, True Blood style, so keep an eye out for that~**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you guys still like this story! :)**


	12. All That's Waiting Is Regret

**A/N: Happy Friday night! (sort of really early Saturday morning here but shhh) I hope you like this chapter; the title's a line from the song Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri.**

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><p>The week was largely uneventful, though Elliot managed to get a job on the road crew. They'd been dead against it at first because she was a girl, but she'd kept on and on until they allowed it and she was glad; she liked being outside, working under the sun. It was hot and it was hard, but it was normal and it built her appetite like nothing else could. She started to eat normally. She had a little money. She was, in short, on the long road to recovery.<p>

Friday had lurked at the end of the week like an exam you hadn't studied for and as the day passed Elliot found herself growing more and more nervous. She'd started work late so she could get a few extra hours of sleep in, but not too long; she needed the money. She had no idea what was considered 'appropriate dress' because she had no idea what she was going to Fangtasia for. If she'd been going for a drink, appropriate dress would have been as little as possible, but if Eric wanted a business meeting then something a little smarter would have been in order. In the end, Elliot decided she didn't care what Eric wanted and she'd gotten into her car wearing close-fitting jeans, a shirt and her leather jacket; an ordinary outfit for what she hoped would turn out to be just an ordinary meeting.

The drive to Shreveport was somewhat nerve wracking and Elliot ended up turning the radio on and filling the car with the sound of normality, singing along at the top of her lungs and relishing the opportunity; it had been so long since she'd sang that she'd forgotten how good it felt. She pulled into the lot and groaned at the sight of the long queue outside, being carded and allowed inside by a very bored looking Pam. The blonde vampire had glanced up upon recognising Elliot's scent once the latter had gotten out of the car and she waved her over.

"You can go on in," she said generously, jerking her head behind her, but not before her eyes had passed Elliot over from head to toe. "Well don't you look like fun on a Friday night," Pam said, eyebrows arching in amusement.

Elliot shrugged. "More fun than you," she replied, surprising even herself at the teasing tone to her words as she looked pointedly at the queue.

"Fair point." Pam turned back to the humans she was dealing with and Elliot passed through the doors into Fangtasia. She recoiled immediately at the amassed crowds and the smell of bodies and people and drink in the air, pushing herself against the wall and sliding around the outside. You couldn't miss Eric sitting up on his throne but Elliot wasn't about to approach him in front of everyone; he had fangbangers around his feet already and the sight made her feel a bit sick. Instead, she decided to go to the bar and wait until he looked a little less occupied.

"What can I get you, pretty lady?" the bartender asked as she approached. He leant over the counter on his elbows, the points of his fangs just visible beneath his upper lip and he breathed in deeply. Appreciating her scent, Elliot assumed; Eric had said at some point that she smelled nice. Apparently that was a vampire-wide thing. She tried not to look freaked out or scared as she looked at what was on offer behind the bar, though she already knew what she was going to get; she just needed a moment to compose herself.

"Just a Coke, please," Elliot told him, before she smirked. "Eric will pay for it." She was pushing her luck but it was his fault she was here, after all. The bartender looked surprised and glanced over at Eric. The blond vampire was already looking in their direction, both because Elliot had moved over there and because he'd heard his name. He nodded almost imperceptibly.

The bartender set a glass before Elliot looking very interested indeed. "You know Eric?"

"Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say I _know_him," Elliot said with a smile of thanks, fingers wrapping around the glass.

"You know his name, he buy you drink - you know him," the bartender nodded, his accent somehow charming. Elliot shrugged.

"I guess." She wasn't about to offer any more information and the bartender moved away to serve drinks to the next customers, leaving Elliot to swing around on the stool (her back firmly to Eric) so she could observe the crowd. Everyone in there was largely the same; tourists and eager humans dressed up like something out of a horror film weaving through the crowds. Some were even sporting fake fangs and painted blood on their necks. Elliot thought it was pathetic; if you were trying to impress a vampire, the last way of doing so was surely by making a mockery of them? Because that was what these people were doing, in their plastic capes and fangs, wide eyes and fake blood.

She couldn't understand the enthral of the vampires at all. Sure, they were mysterious and it had been exciting to discover that the world wasn't what it had always seemed when they exposed themselves, and there was no denying that most of them were heart-stoppingly attractive (Eric, unfortunately, being no exception) but other than that...they weren't very nice. From observing the few actual vampires in the bar tonight she could tell that Eric and Pam's disdain for humans seemed to be a general vampire trait, and most looked at the people in the bar with nothing but hunger on their faces. Why would anyone fall down to worship such a creature? Because worship they did; on their knees, heads bent, necks exposed - they all begged for a little attention, they all begged to be noticed by one of them, any of them.

Nose wrinkling, Elliot looked down at her drink, wishing she wasn't there. She was getting a few odd looks, no doubt because she was hardly dressed for a night in Fangtasia, and she felt horribly obvious. God knew when Eric would deign to get off his arse and actually talk to her but Elliot wasn't fool enough to try and leave before he did. She took a sip of the liquid, closing her eyes and willing herself to relax. The atmosphere in the club was thick with excitement and lust and the thump of the music; Elliot let it wash over her, let it light her up from the inside.

It didn't take long before her own heart was pumping a little faster and there was a smile pulling at her lips, both because of the effect of the energy and because Elliot had just discovered a neat little trick she hadn't known she possessed. She couldn't explain how she'd known what to do, or why she'd decided to try it, but she was glad she had. Suddenly, she felt alright to be there - felt _good_about being there, even.

"Bartender!" she called out, spinning on her stool so quickly her messed hair fell into her face. Sweeping it back, she noticed that the vampire was smiling at her. He had his fangs out but other than that he looked very pleasant indeed.

"You call me Solomon, pretty lady," he purred at her.

"Then you should call me Elliot," she returned, smiling right back at him. "Can I get a drink, please?"

"Of course, Miss Elliot," Solomon said at once, spreading his arms to indicate the rack of drinks behind him. "What you like?"

"Anything," Elliot said recklessly. "Get me anything at all."

It was with a roguish smile that he turned away and set to work, picking a few bottles and mixing and shaking until he set a glass in front of Elliot. She eyed it for a second before lifting it in toast to Solomon.

"Mr Eric is watching you, pretty lady," he told her in a low murmur, eyes fixed on hers. Elliot downed the small glass and coughed, shaking her head with a grin, laughing despite herself.

"_Christ_, what was that?" she asked through a raw throat and Solomon's laughter spilled over the air.

"A magical thing," he assured her, scooping her glass off the countertop and setting it beneath. Magical indeed. Elliot could feel the alcohol burning through her veins; she hadn't had a drink in a long time, she'd been far too scared to. But now it just felt _right_ to drink, to dance, to have _fun_- it was in the air and it was in Elliot and she wanted every single person there to dance with her until they could dance no more.

"_Elliot_?" The voice that called out to her was leaden with surprise and the girl turned to see Hal coming up to lean against the bar beside her. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't..." His green eyes swivelled to look at Eric, who was looking pointedly at the dancers.

"I'm not his," she told him firmly. "I'm here on...business, I guess."

"Looks like," Hal laughed, shaking his head at her. "I got dragged here by a few friends - they wanted to check this place out," he added, apparently realising what she was about to ask. There was a pause where they simply looked at each other and Hal bit his lip. "Look - I'm sorry about-" he said but Elliot cut him off.

"You don't have to be sorry, it's me who should-"

"Don't apologise to me," Hal said, setting a finger quickly against her lips to silence the words. His hand was very warm and Elliot appreciated that for a second until he took it away. "So...we're alright?"

Elliot nodded. "We're alright," she confirmed. Hal smiled.

"Do you want to dance?"

She did. Elliot got to her feet and allowed Hal to take her hand, which he used to pull her onto the dance floor. The song they had playing at that moment was quick and the bass was deep; it was heavy enough to own each and every body on the on the dance floor and the human pair who'd just stepped out were no exception. Elliot's face was alight as she moved and Hal was smiling with pleasure as he ran his hands down onto her hips, bending closer and rotating with the music, carried along with the crowd.

Elliot's hands looped around his waist and they pressed together; Hal's eyes had closed and her own were staring at the ceiling, fascinated by the lights there, which was perhaps why none of them noticed that Eric had gotten to his feet. Before they knew it, Hal had been wrenched away and Elliot stumbled, glaring at the vampire as he held the other man carefully away from her.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, conscious of the stares of the crowd but too angry to worry about them right now.

"I thought I told you to stay away from her," Eric said smoothly, ignoring Elliot and focusing on the guy at the end of his arm.

"You never said that," Hal managed to say and Elliot, noticing that he couldn't breathe, shoved Eric as hard as she could. The blond turned to look at her; her shove had done nothing to loosen his grip but it had gotten his attention.

"Let go of him," she growled.

Eric obliged, apparently realising that he was near to choking the poor guy, and his hand dropped to his side. A ring of empty space surrounded the three of them as the dancers, both human and vampire alike, backed away from the sheriff. Eric turned to look at Elliot.

"Go and wait for me in my office."

Elliot's eyebrow arched. "What are you going to do with Hal?" she asked him, reaching out for the man's sleeve but Eric's cool fingers gripped her wrist and stopped her.

"He will not be harmed." The words were grudging; the hatred Eric felt for Hal was palpable and the dark haired human was looking between Elliot and Eric with his teeth sank deeply into his lower lip. "Go to my office. I will meet you there shortly."

Elliot looked up into Eric's face; he was furious. She glanced across at Hal, who was looking sick with fear, and she shook her head. "I don't trust you."

Eric reached out and gave her a gentle shove, pushing her back a step. "I said he will not be harmed, now _go_." Pam had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and she took hold of Elliot's shoulders, steering her towards the door that led to Eric's office.

"No - wait! Hal! Pam - he'll kill him!" But struggling against the blonde vampire was as useless as struggling against Eric and Elliot didn't want to reach for the energy inside her in case she hurt someone. The high she'd gotten from the people present earlier had disappeared as quickly as it had come and Elliot, after another moment of trying to fight, gave in and allowed herself to be led away. Pam walked her into Eric's office and shut the door, turning to Elliot with amusement evident on her porcelain features.

"You've really got him in a knot," she commented with glee while Elliot dropped onto the sofa with a sigh.

"Believe me it wasn't intentional," Elliot replied, rolling her eyes. "What's his problem, anyway? We were just _dancing_."

Pam shrugged. "I didn't see. Whatever you did, you've pissed him off somehow. Good luck dealing with that." And on that cheery note she gave a little wave and a wink and she was out the door before Elliot could stop her.

"_Great_."

She stood up and wandered around after a few minutes, stuck for what to do. She sat in Eric's chair, sat in the chair opposite his desk, and she sat on the desk itself. Then she glanced over the books on the shelves, corrected the grammar of one of the papers on his desk and checked the time. She'd been in there for half an hour. What the hell was Eric _doing_? Worry touched against her stomach; she really shouldn't have left him with Hal.

Making up her mind, Elliot headed for the door and yanked it open, striding purposefully out only to slam straight into something very hard. A groan passed over her lips and she would have fallen had Eric not reached instinctively to stop her from doing do.

"I thought I told you not to leave."

"You didn't say that. You said come wait in here, which I did."

"And then you left," Eric pointed out, setting his hands on her shoulders and steering her backwards into the office.

"I tried." Elliot wrinkled her nose as she was deposited into the seat across from the desk. "You _would_show up at precisely the wrong moment. Where's Hal?"

"Hal is the human male?" Elliot nodded. "Home, I imagine. That's where I told him to go."

"Did you hurt him?" she asked suspiciously.

"No."

"Did you drink from him?"

"No."

"What did you do then?" Elliot settled her back against the chair, watching Eric as he neatened the papers on his desk. A slight frown creased his forehead when he saw the red correction she'd made but he didn't comment on it. Her eyes trailed over his lips, neck, shirt and arms for any trace of blood but she couldn't see any. Not that that proved anything; after a thousand years she supposed you got pretty good at eating without spilling.

"I informed him that he was no longer welcome at my bar, and that he wasn't to go near you again." This was spoken very casually and it only served to make the fury that burned through Elliot's stomach all the more potent.

"You _what_?" This vampire was definitely the most infuriating one on the planet. "Eric you have absolutely _no_right to do that!" Her voice was getting louder and Elliot realised suddenly that she was on her feet. Eric was watching her quite calmly, eyebrows arched.

"I have every right - he had his hands all over you," he returned, his voice a snarl before he seemed to focus himself.

"And you have no right to be offended by that," Elliot snapped at him. "You need to get this through that thick skull of yours- We. Are. Not. Dating." Because he definitely seemed to be confused.

Eric shook his head. "I don't date."

"Clearly. No woman would have you, you egotistical prick," Elliot said before she could stop herself. She wasn't sure if Eric went over the desk or around it but in the blink of an eye he was a hair's breadth away from her and he looked livid. Elliot's knees hit the chair and she sat down hard.

"You should remember your place," he growled, the sound low and terrifying. Elliot fought back the fear and stared him right in the eyes.

"I am remembering my place," she said through gritted teeth. "You should remember that I'm a fucking person and not a doll you can do with as you please." Not that being a person meant anything to Eric, who firmly believed that if you weren't a vampire you weren't worth a damn.

"You are a human," Eric said, straightening up. With Elliot sitting in the chair, this gave him a really horrible height advantage but when she went to stand his hand found its way onto her shoulder and stopped her. "You mean less to me than the money in my back pocket." His words were crystal clear and, while Elliot hadn't realised she cared about his opinion of her, she found that she was hurt by them.

Her nod was sharp. "Yeah, right. I get it. Whatever. What the fuck did you want me for?"

Eric fell back a step and resumed his place behind his desk, seemingly oblivious to the rage seething through Elliot's blood. It was taking everything she had to hold onto the power that struggled to burst out of her; she was shaking visibly and her eyes were tight shut. She sucked in a deep breath and held it for as long as she could before letting it out again. Eric was silent as, slowly, she regained control of herself until she opened her eyes and glared at him. The air around her was several degrees hotter and her eyes were bright but nothing was broken.

"Tell me - do you always have nightmares?" Eric question was sudden and unexpected and Elliot stared at him. For several seconds she seemed unable to form words but then her expression hardened, her eyes deadened.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said stiffly.

Eric's laugh made it very clear that he knew she was lying. "Answer the question."

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I want to know." Simple, clear. Eric wanted something, he got it. That was the way his world worked. Well, Elliot was sick of his shitty world where he was the damn king and everyone fell before him with adoring eyes. The last thing he needed was someone else to boss around.

"Why? I'm worth less than a hundred bucks to you," she said, seemingly uncaringly. As she spoke she lifted her hand and between her first two fingers were several folded notes. Eric's neutral expression was jolted and he instinctively went to check his pocket. Empty.

"How did you do that?" he fired at her, shocked enough that he didn't make any attempt to hide it.

Elliot shrugged. "A trick I picked up along the way. Never tried it on a vampire before - if I'd known how easy you lot would be to pickpocket I'd have done it long ago." Eric, of course, had never dreamt that someone might try and take something from his pocket and therefore had been very easy to snatch the notes from, particularly as he hadn't even bothered with a wallet. Other vampires would probably prove harder but Elliot was going to say whatever she had to to piss him off.

"Keep it," Eric said once he'd recovered. "It's pocket change."

"I don't want it." Elliot flicked her wrist and the notes landed on the floor at her feet. "I don't want anything from you. I want you to piss off and leave me the fuck alone."

"Not going to happen." Eric sat up a little straighter and looked across the desk at the human before him. "You didn't answer my question, which I assume means you _do_always have nightmares. Interesting."

"Hardly."

"What are they about?"

"None of your fucking business." Elliot had to pull in another deep breath and let it out slowly, promising herself she'd be out of here soon.

Eric's eyebrow lifted in plain amusement. "You kept saying 'no - please don't'," he informed her with a cruel twist in his lips. Elliot's teeth bit down hard on her lip; she couldn't _believe_ him. He'd fucking _listened_.

"What did you want me for?" she asked in a voice of forced calm.

"Tonight I just wanted to see if you'd come," he said casually. "But I'd like you to come here every Friday, at about one. I want to see what else you can do, and you need to learn how to control this gift of yours or you're going to kill yourself. Or me. And we can't be having that."

Elliot's jaw stiffened. "Whatever." She got to her feet with a jerky movement. "See you in a week, Mr Northman." She was at the door in several quick strides.

"Elliot?"

"_What_?" She paused with the door half open but she didn't turn around; she wanted to get the hell away from him. Hatefully, Elliot could feel the urge to cry rising in her and she wanted to be far away from the vampire if that happened.

"I lied before. You're worth more than a hundred dollars. Much more." His voice was smooth and, as far as she could tell, sincere, but the damage had already been done. Eric had said it and he could never take it back; the words had stung more than anything else he'd said, which he seemed to have realised.

"Tell that to someone who gives a shit." And with that she slammed the door of his office and stormed out. She made it all the way back to her car before the tears began to fall.

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><p><strong>AN: Let me know what you thought? Reviews make me extremely happy! Also – I only just found out that you can actually reply to reviews (yeah I know; I'm dumb) so I promise that if you left me a review I haven't been ignoring you! I've just been being...stupid, basically. I'll try to get to replying to them all over the weekend – thank you so much for leaving them, I can't believe I can actually reply! xD**


	13. All I Can Taste Is This Moment

**Title is from Iris by the Goo Goo Dolls**

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><p>Elliot woke up on Saturday morning (well, it was closer to Saturday afternoon) feeling like hell but, despite the temptation to stay in bed, she sat up and forced herself into the shower. She was being pathetic; not just about Eric but about life in general. She'd been here for over a month now and she'd spent almost all of her time holed up in her poky little house. Well, today that was going to change. Today she began her new life as strong Elliot with an actual home and an actual life. She had a job, she had a house. Sure, she had a curse and a vampire on her back and a crazy ex probably searching for her at that very moment but honestly, she was tired of being scared so she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind.<p>

Scrubbed and clean, Elliot pulled on shorts and an old shirt, hunted around for her sneakers but couldn't find them and opted for her boots instead. She looked a little odd but she was comfortable and Elliot found that she didn't really care about much besides that. There was nothing for breakfast but the brunette tended towards just coffee in the mornings anyway, so she set the machine to brew while thumbing through her contacts for Morgan's number. They'd spoken briefly last week, enough for Elliot to assure herself that Morgan's conference had gone okay, but they hadn't done anything for a while.

The blonde was busy. Typical. Elliot poured out the coffee, wondering if she should crawl back into bed. Going out alone was the opposite of what she was trying to achieve today. No. She wouldn't; she needed to get some sort of a life for herself on track and she needed to do it now. Before she could have second thoughts, Elliot punched in the number Sookie had given her instead and held the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Sookie?"

"Oh hey Elliot!" The waitress brightened considerably upon recognising the voice and Elliot smiled with relief; she'd been worried that she'd be intruding on the life of the blonde but evidently Sookie was pleased to hear from her. "How're you doing?"

"Oh - y'know. Normal, thanks," Elliot replied cautiously; she didn't know how close Sookie and Eric were so she didn't know what the vampire would have told her but the blonde didn't question it. "You?" Elliot balanced the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she grabbed a mug from the cupboard and began sorting the coffee before sitting herself at the table, humming along as Sookie told her she was good.

"Listen - um...this may seem kinda random," she started nervously, worrying at her lip. "But I was wondering what you were doing today? Because like, if you're free I was thinking maybe we could go shopping...or something? Whatever, really - I just...I just need to get out." She was babbling and Elliot clamped her mouth shut before she could make too much of a fool of herself.

"Of course! I've got a few things I need to get, actually, so that'd be real great. Want me to come by and pick you up?" Sookie sounded not only okay with Elliot having contacted her, but actively pleased. The latter's relief washed over her and her lips pulled into a rare smile.

She was nodding, but of course Sookie couldn't see that. "Yeah, please - that'd be great."

"Okay, no problem," the waitress replied cheerfully. "I've got to sort a few things out here first but I'll be there in about an hour?"

"That's perfect. I'll see you then."

Sookie said her goodbyes and Elliot ended the call with a breath of relief; she'd done it, she'd made the first step. Going out shopping would be good for her; there were things she needed to get but she also just needed to be normal and she needed to go out in the sun where she could rest assured no vampire could ever come near her. Being with Morgan would have been fun, yes, but when she thought about it Elliot figured Sookie would be better for her; the blonde understood, better than anyone, what Elliot's life was like.

It seemed like only a few minutes had passed before the hour was up and Elliot stepped out to wait on the porch just as Sookie's beat up old car trundled up the short driveway. Elliot greeted her with a small wave and a genuine smile. The sun was doing wonders to cheer her up and she'd almost forgotten her meeting with Eric last night. Almost. She wandered over and clambered into the passenger's side with a smile, dumping her purse at her feet and leaning back against the seat while Sookie turned them around.

The trip to town was uneventful and for most of the morning the two just wandered around spending money on things they wanted, something neither of them allowed themselves to do very often. When they decided to sit for a late dinner in the food court, Elliot had several bags of new clothes and a few things for the house due to be delivered in the coming week. For the first time, she felt a bit more like she had a home rather than a temporary place to stay before she uprooted again.

Of course, the threat of Michael was still present but he hadn't caught up with her for a few months; perhaps he'd lost track of her, or perhaps he'd simply given up. Either way, Elliot found herself slowly but surely sinking into a rare sense of security that she wasn't eager to push away; for the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to relax.

"You seem happier," Sookie commented, smiling over the top of her iced tea.

Elliot's smile was slow in coming but it settled on her lips eventually. "I guess I am," she replied, flicking her fingers against the soda glass in front of her. "It's nice to be normal."

"Normal's pretty hard to come by around here," the waitress said sympathetically. "Especially when you've caught Eric's eye. Makes being normal pretty much impossible." It was very clear that Sookie was speaking from experience. "It's never boring though."

As it happened, boring was just fine for Elliot, but she supposed it was a good thing; boring was good for a little while, but she'd always needed something to keep her going. With everything that had happened she'd craved something dull and uninteresting but perhaps this was the sort of life she was truly meant for. "I guess not." She sipped at her soda, nudging the bags at her feet with the toe of one boot. "Hey - thanks for coming out with me today. All this stuff - I know it probably looks a bit extravagant but I just - I need a new start. Maybe here's the place to do it; I sure hope so, 'cause it doesn't look like I have much choice. But thanks."

"It's no problem - I've had fun - I should be the one thanking _you_," Sookie's reply came through her bright smile and Elliot's shoulders relaxed a little. Despite the fact that they were incredibly different in disposition, she quite liked the waitress. Certainly it was nice to not have to keep all the vampire crap a complete secret from her, and it was more than just nice to know that Sookie was considered a freak too, that she wasn't alone. "So what's Eric want with you, anyway? Has he told you yet?" the blonde asked conversationally, sitting back in her chair. "Bill's pretty suspicious; Eric doesn't normally pay any attention to humans unless they're giving him sex or blood."

"I'm not," Elliot said quickly, hating even the idea of being thought of that way. "Definitely not. I'm no fangbanger, and I told him that straight up so he better not be expecting that sort of shit from me."

Sookie gave a small, very girlish giggle that made Elliot feel like she was in high school, just enjoying lunch out with a friend and chatting about boys. How gloriously normal that would be. If only that were the case. "How'd he take that?"

"Pretty well, I think; he doesn't want sex from me anyway - I don't actually know what he wants," Elliot said, making a face.

"Knowing Eric, he probably does want sex from you," Sookie said wisely. "But obviously he wants your power for something. He didn't tell you anything?"

Elliot shook her head. "Nope. Just said I could be useful if I learnt to control it - sounded pretty ominous to me but to be honest I wasn't really thinking about that; I was more angry about the fact that he said I was worth less than a hundred bucks."

"Yeah, well - that's Eric for you." Sookie rolled her eyes. "Doesn't think humans are worth a damn and even if you've got something to offer he still reckons you're about as good as dirt on his shoes. Don't mind him, though; he's alright, really, as vampires go."

"He's the first I've met," Elliot told her, rolling her eyes a little. "I'm trying not to judge them all from him but, truth be told, I'd be glad not to meet another."

Sookie's lips curled. "If it wasn't for Bill I might think the same but he's real decent." She got a look on her face when she spoke about him that made Elliot feel weird inside; once upon a time, that must have been what she looked like when Michael's name came up. Lovestruck, smitten..._happy_.

"Well...as long as you're happy together," she said, a tad awkwardly. Elliot lifted her glass to her lips and took a long sip before setting it back down on the napkin.

"We are," Sookie said definitely. "I'm happier than I've ever been in my life, Elliot, and that's the honest truth. Even though things get a bit weird sometimes and I've seen things I didn't ever want to see - Bill's been good to me, and I think I'm good for him." She settled against the back of her chair and gave a small laugh. "How did we start talking about me, anyway? It's you I'm worried for, and Bill is too - worried about what Eric wants. When he wanted me to do stuff for him, least I had Bill to help me."

Sookie hadn't meant it in a harsh way, and Elliot didn't take it so, but the blonde reddened all the same.

"That came out wrong," she said quickly, looking horrified. "What I mean is-"

"Don't worry, I get you," Elliot assured her, vaguely amused by Sookie's worrying over it. She'd clearly had manners drummed into her since she was small. "You had someone there to protect you, and all I've got's me," she summarised and Sookie gave a slow nod after several seconds' thought.

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," she said earnestly. "But Bill thinks maybe he oughta come with you to Fangtasia or something?" It was obvious to Elliot that Bill hadn't necessarily thought of this himself, had perhaps not even been consulted before he was being offered up as a bodyguard, but it was also clear that Sookie was worried.

Elliot gave her a smile. "Honestly? Thanks for the offer - and thank Bill too - but I don't need it. I'll be alright - Eric's a dick but if he thinks he can use me he won't do anything terrible." She hoped. Nothing she hadn't suffered before, at any rate. While Elliot was aware that a thousand year old vampire could probably torture humans along with the best of them, there was little that could compare to being so helpless as Elliot had once been, being betrayed by someone you love. That was pain that went much deeper than any blow could. "Besides - it's not like I have anything to lose." The words slipped out; Elliot was getting far too relaxed, and Sookie's eyes widened a little.

"That's no excuse for him hurt you," the waitress said firmly.

"He hasn't hurt me," Elliot said quickly. Sookie's gaze grew very intense and then she frowned.

"It's so weird not being able to hear you," she said after a moment of silence. "It's a curse, really, but I get so used to hearing thoughts that it jolts me everytime I realise I don't have to block you out. And then when I want to know what you're thinking, it jolts me again to realise I can't just reach out and figure out what."

Elliot's lips curled. "I'm very glad you don't know what I'm thinking," she said honestly. "I don't want anyone in my head, for whatever reason." What she kept in there was private and secret and the idea of all of her being exposed to someone made her feel ill. Her secrecy was all she had. Feeling the need to get off the subject of her own mind, Elliot leant forward. "So how do you block people out, then?" she asked curiously.

"It's like putting up a wall," Sookie began to explain. "You have to focus to keep it there, work to keep them out, but it's much better than having them all crowd in - especially working at the bar. When people get drunk they think some awful things."

"I'd hate that," Elliot said, shuddering, and Sookie nodded.

"It used to be much worse - after I had Bill's blood it was almost easy." The words dropped into the air like lead weights and Elliot's eyes widened, her fear making her stomach feel bottomless. Vampire blood could increase one's ability? Or at least, make it more manageable?

"Please," Elliot said quietly, her eyes closed, "for the love of God tell me Eric doesn't know that."

Sookie went a little paler as she realised what Elliot was getting at and she shook her head. "No, I don't think so," she said, looking distant, obviously casting her mind back. "Eric knows I've had Bill's blood but he doesn't know much about my ability except that it works."

"Do _not_tell him." Elliot's voice was low and harsh but Sookie didn't look phased by it. She nodded seriously.

"Of course not," she said, as though it had been obvious and Elliot's eyes searched her face for any sign that she wasn't to be trusted but she found none and eventually relaxed a little.

"He tried to get me to drink his blood before, so I couldn't run away," Elliot said, running her tongue over her lower lip as she thought about it. "But that was the only time and he wanted to do it then so he'd be able to find me, so I guess he doesn't know." Which was a huge relief, but Elliot wished she hadn't known either; now she was technically keeping something from him and, while she was keeping a lot of things from a lot of people, she hated doing it. Especially as Eric's often direct way of questioning was difficult to avoid. "I guess it's got some sort of tracker property?"

Sookie nodded slowly. "Yeah, I think so," she answered. "I don't really get how it works, but Bill said he'd always be able to find me after I took some of his."

Despite how hard she tried, Elliot's face betrayed her feelings on that particular matter and her eyes dropped onto the table. Sookie had noticed. "Sorry - I don't have anything against you or anything," she said quickly, feeling awkward again. "It's just..."

"Gross?" Sookie supplied knowingly.

Elliot paused for a second. "Well..._yeah_. I mean - it's _blood_." And it sent people off the deep end when they took it, according to the news. They lost themselves, lost their minds - some of them even became killers. Elliot shuddered.

"I thought it was gross too but when Bill gave me his I wasn't really in much of a position to argue," Sookie confided lightly. Elliot jerked, assuming the worst, and she was half on her feet with fury before the waitress realised how it must have come across. "No," she said quickly, shaking her head and reaching to catch Elliot's wrist, pulling her back into her seat despite the way the brunette automatically flinched away. "No - not like that, never like that - Bill wouldn't do that to me."

"Good. I'd have killed him if he had," Elliot said fiercely, and in that moment Sookie didn't doubt that she was capable of it.

"He saved my life."

"Well shit." Elliot sat back, eyebrows arched in surprise. "By giving you his blood? I didn't know they could do that."

"Me either, 'til he did," Sookie said with a small laugh. "Vampire blood's real good at healing though."

Elliot was frowning. "Guess that's not too smart to mention on the news," she thought aloud. "Drainers are obsessed with it anyway, who knows what people'd be like if they knew it was magic medicine as well." The vampires would probably be rounded up, locked away so people could collect from them whenever they wanted and it wouldn't even be illegal, not if it became common knowledge that V was stuff that could be used in hospitals. In a way, Elliot thought it was somewhat cruel that the vampires didn't offer their blood to heal the numerous humans who died everyday of wounds they could fix, but when she really thought about it she realised she was being unfair. Nobody wanted to be farmed.

"Changes you a bit as well," Sookie confided, making a face. "It was weird - I didn't look like me. My hair was too bright, my skin was too perfect. I guess that doesn't make much sense - it made me beautiful for a while, so I should like it. But when I look in the mirror I want to see _me_." Elliot nodded; she understood.

"Either way - I don't want it," Elliot said decisively. "The thought of Eric being able to find me wherever I go is awful enough without anything else tacked on the end."

"That's not all," Sookie said, making another face and taking a sip of iced tea. "He wouldn't just be able to find you - he'd be able to feel your emotions as well, tell when you were hurt or happy or angry."

Elliot's eyes had gone wide. "What the _fuck_," she said, shaking her head. She drained the soda in one go as she tried to absorb what Sookie had just said; Eric had tried to give that to her. What would have happened had she taken him up on his offer? "How long does it last for?" she asked eventually.

"Until one of you dies," Sookie's reply came, blunt and honest.

"Shit."

"Yep."

Sookie finished up her drink and glanced around. "That guy over there is watching you," she reported in a quiet voice. "Don't turn around," the waitress added quickly as Elliot made to do so. "He's real suspicious of you."

Elliot's eyes were wide and her skin looked paler even than Eric's. "W-What does he look like?" she forced out through numb lips, steadying her shaking hands by clenching them into fists. "What's he thinking about?" The second question came out more as a demand but she wasn't bothered with politeness now; it was taking everything she had to keep herself in her seat instead of sprinting for the exit just as fast as she could go.

"He's got light hair - darker than mine but lighter than yours, dark eyes, looks like, pretty pale."

The report was quick but Elliot relaxed at once; it wasn't Michael. Probably. Not unless he'd changed a lot since she last saw him, and she sure hoped he hadn't; she needed to be able to recognise him from a distance. "You got a mirror on you?" she asked, feeling like a crap spy in a shit film.

Sookie fished out a compact and held it out without asking questions and somewhere in the back of her mind, Elliot registered that the blonde must have been through one hell of a lot to not think she was weird. Sookie was acting like this was normal, like it was the sort of thing she did every day, and had Elliot not been so occupied she might have felt sympathy that she'd been fated to that, but now was not the time. Long fingers flipped it open and, under the pretence of checking her non-existent eye makeup, Elliot looked around for the man in the mirror.

"He's sat right next to the bathroom," Sookie said helpfully and Elliot spotted him at once; he was staring right in their direction and he didn't look happy at all. But it wasn't Michael, and that was enough for her right now, so she handed the mirror back.

"What's he thinking?" she asked again, more politely.

"He doesn't mean you any harm," Sookie said, closing her eyes and ducking her head to look less conspicuous as she did so. "He's just...he's here because of you. He's thinking about you, just...just watching, really. It's weird he's - he's really fuzzy, but he's definitely human. He's not thinking about much except you and he's not sure why exactly here's here, just that he is and you're the one he's meant to be watching. He doesn't want you to leave." Opening her eyes, Sookie sent Elliot an apologetic glance. "Sorry; it's a bit confusing - it's hard to explain what thoughts are like, they're not exactly words so it's like translating."

"No - it's fine," Elliot said with a small smile. "That was brilliant. Guess it does come in useful sometimes, huh?"

"Sometimes," Sookie agreed. "Doesn't yours?"

Elliot laughed humourlessly. "Not really."

Sookie gave a sympathetic smile before finishing off her drink and gathering her bags. "Shall we get out of here? That guy's freaking me out a bit, and he's not even watching me," she said, and Elliot stood to follow her. It didn't escape either of their notice that the man stood up as well and, a few seconds after they'd left, he followed them out.

**AN: Heey, unlucky chapter thirteen! I know it's pretty boring and I'm incredibly sorry for that buuut they have to exist or Elliot would die of exhaustion! And I also know that this is a horribly similar to chapter nine but Eric and vampire stuff is basically all these two have to make conversation with right now – they're still new to each other. Please let me know what you thought, even if you thought it was utter tripe! Next chapter is written (the next five chapters are written, as a matter of fact) and will be up soon! :)**


	14. We Know It's Never Simple

**AN: Three cheers for fast updates! ...No? Okay then – onto the chapter...**

It was already getting dark when they stepped outside and Elliot tugged Sookie into the shadows, taking cover in the small alleyway off the mall where everyone dumped their rubbish. Trying not to breathe too much, Elliot peered through the dim evening light, heart hammering as she waited for the guy to emerge. He did, looking purposeful and annoyed as he glanced around. He swore colourfully, kicking a can so it banged away. He turned a full circle, staring around for them. Elliot held still, breath held. She was beginning to feel dizzy but _really_ didn't want this guy to find her.

A breeze stirred the air and the plastic bags that had been dumped at their feet rustled. The guy swung around to look right at them and there was a pause while both parties eyed each other. Then Elliot's instincts kicked in and she ran, turning tail to race through the alley with Sookie on her heels, their shopping forgotten. He gave chase at once, his heavier steps beating closer and closer to them - Elliot could hear his breaths searing in sharp bursts. He was gaining on them, getting far too close - Elliot was fast but he was faster and she felt fingers scrabble at her back.

Without warning she threw herself to the side, whipped around and threw her hands out at him. The air grew suddenly sharp and there was a bang as the stranger hit the wall of the alley hard enough to knock him out. He slid to the floor and the rustling of his clothes as he did so was the only sound to be heard save for Elliot's shallow breathing.

The usual wave of exhaustion didn't sweep over her; adrenaline was still making her blood sing, but she felt sick as she looked at the guy. There was a dribble of blood running from his hairline and Elliot's legs gave way beneath her. She sank to the dirty ground and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"What have I done?" she asked hollowly, addressing nobody, hands pushed firmly against her lips. Sookie was bent over the man, checking him quickly and with an efficiency that scared Elliot because the waitress did not appear at all surprised by what had just happened, though she did look somewhat shaken.

"He's alive," Sookie assured her, stepping back and moving to sit beside Elliot. "Just unconscious."

Alive or not, he was still hurt and it was still Elliot's fault for being a freak. She sucked in a deep breath and leant her head against the wall with her eyes closed. "What do we do now?"

"We need to find out what he's doing here," Sookie said quietly. She pulled out her phone and started typing, lifting it to her ear before Elliot had a chance to register what she was doing.

"Stop!" she hissed just as a male voice could be heard on the other end. Sookie looked at Elliot, torn, and turned her head slowly back to the phone.

"_Sookie?_" Eric's voice sounded from the other end. "_What is it_?"

"Nothing," the blonde said after a moment's hesitation. "I uh...I meant to call Bill. Sorry." Elliot slumped with relief, closing her eyes.

"_Bill won't be up yet_," Eric told her. His voice could be clearly even from where Elliot was sitting. "_It's not full dark._ _Are you in trouble_?"

Elliot shook her head and Sookie bit her lip. "No," she said. "No, we're fine. Sorry." And she hung up, much to Elliot's relief.

"If we involve him we'll never hear the end of it," Elliot said lowly.

"We have to do something - he won't stay out forever." She was right, Elliot knew, but she still had no idea what to do. She was shaking badly and felt horribly sick.

"Eric wouldn't be able to come out yet anyway," she mumbled. It wasn't pertinent but it was the easiest thing to say; everything else required far too much thought. She jumped, startled, as a different noise rang out, an electronic beat of notes that sounded from the unconscious man's pocket. Elliot stared at him, wide-eyed, heart pounding again but the phone cut off and after a minute or two of nothing happening she calmed a little. They sat together in silence for a long time, Elliot startling at every person who passed the alley but nobody discovered them, sitting up against the wall opposite a guy lying sprawled on the filthy ground.

Eventually, Sookie got to her feet and looked between Elliot and the guy. "We have to do something," she said firmly. "Bill can glamour him to find out why he was following you but he won't wake up until it's full dark."

"Eric's awake," Elliot pointed out, again sticking to the easy facts that didn't require thought.

Sookie gave a small shrug. "He's older - Bill can only get up when it's dark. I guess Eric gets up when the sun goes down." Easy, pointless conversation. It was so much better than discussing a plan, than Elliot having to face what she'd just done. She hadn't hurt a human in a long time but she could never forget the times when she had before and it was all she could do to keep her mind in the present. "Elliot," Sookie's tone was sharp as she realised the brunette's attention was elsewhere. "If someone finds us down here we'll be arrested for assault and I _really_ don't want to go to jail, okay? So we need to do something."

Elliot nodded numbly. "You should go," she said blankly. "I'll wait here for the police." She couldn't really comprehend what she was saying; her words sounded like they were coming from incredibly far away.

"That won't be necessary," a voice spoke from the other end of the alley and both women jumped. Elliot hastily scrambled to her feet, peering through darkness that had somehow managed to fall thickly around them.

"Eric?" It sounded like him anyway, though she couldn't make him out through the shadows. Obligingly, he stepped forwards so some of the light spilling from the mall could reach him and Elliot realised that it was, in fact, Eric. She glanced upwards, surprised to see that the sky had gotten dark in the time since they'd first run into the alley. Oh how time flies when you're being chased by a guy with unknown intentions. "What are you doing here?"

"Well I'm glad to see you too, Miss Sanderson," he said, eyes sweeping over her before they landed on Sookie. "And if it isn't my favourite telepath. I should've known you'd be here together."

"What are you doing here?" Elliot repeated, remembering suddenly that she was furious with him. "We didn't ask for your help."

"No, but you need it."

Unfortunately, Elliot couldn't argue with that and, taking her silence as concession, Eric bent over the stranger. "Do you know this man?" he asked, his fangs clicking out as he smelled the blood.

"No," Elliot replied, watching the vampire very carefully.

"He was following her," Sookie supplied, frowning. "And then he chased us. And then..." She trailed away and gestured at the guy, leaving Eric to make his own conclusions, which he did with an appraising glance at Elliot, who looked away. In silence, Eric gave the man a rough shake until he stirred with awareness and as soon as he did the vampire stared very carefully at him.

"You will leave these women alone," he instructed deeply, before the stranger had a chance to speak. "Forget that they exist. Go home, get your head sorted out. You fell." The man nodded slowly, looking dazed, though whether that was due to the knock he'd had or Eric's influence Elliot wasn't sure. Either way, he got unsteadily to his feet and wandered through to the end of the alley and out of sight.

Elliot let out a sigh. "I should go with him," she muttered, looking at where he'd disappeared. "Make sure he's okay."

"He's fine," Eric told her, straightening up. "And nobody got arrested. I'd say that went well, wouldn't you?"

Elliot glared at him. Eric just smirked.

"Well, thanks, Eric," Sookie said from Elliot's shoulder, manners kicking in. "I'm not too sure what we'd have done if you hadn't showed up."

"We'd have figured something out," Elliot said through gritted teeth.

"And how, exactly, would you have figured out how to stop yourself from getting arrested for assault?" Eric asked with feigned interest and Elliot was stumped. She had no idea, and the vampire was fully aware of that, so she just kept quiet. "I'm also wondering how you were going to explain what happened?" His eyes raked her over from head to toe and his lips curled. "You hardly look like you could take that guy out without...help." And explaining said help was impossible.

Elliot sighed. "Yeah, I get it, okay? You helped me out. Thanks," she said grudgingly.

"No need for thanks," Eric said casually, waving a hand to prove his point. "I'll just bear in mind that you owe me a favour."

"_What_?"

"Eric that's not fair," Sookie admonished, frowning at the vampire. "Elliot didn't call you here, if anyone did it was me. You've messed her around enough already."

The vampire looked almost thoughtful for a second. "You, however, wouldn't have been arrested had I not showed up. Elliot, on the other hand..." He shot her a fangy smile and Elliot scowled at him. "That said, considering our _business_ agreement I have no need to call in favours with her, do I, Elliot?"

Unfortunately no, he didn't, but Elliot wasn't very well going to admit that to him.

"As it is I _do_ have something in mind that I might need your help with." His words were met with both hostility and curiosity from Elliot, resignation from Sookie.

"You don't have to do what he says, Elliot," the waitress said firmly, glaring at Eric. The vampire smiled.

"Oh Sookie, you do amuse me," he spoke with a mocking sort of sigh. "Elliot knows her position very well. I also seem to remember _you_ promising to help me should I require your...talents. It seems that time may be upon us."

"Again." Sookie didn't sound too happy. "I agreed to help you but Elliot didn't. You threatened her into it - there's a difference, you can't just _do_ that."

This time Eric's smile was truly scary in the shadowed alleyway. "Dearest Sookie," he breathed as he leant closer, blue eyes moving across to land on Elliot's face. "Who is going to stop me?" And with that he was gone, leaving Elliot and Sookie to stare at each other in dismay. They remained still for several minutes, neither having much to do or say except stand and wonder how the hell they'd gotten into this mess.

"Well isn't this just fucking _great_," Elliot commented, making her way back down the alley. Thankfully their shopping bags were untouched, if a little grimy, and the two gathered them up before walking back to Sookie's car.

"I'm so sorry," the blonde spoke, leaning against the driver's door and talking to Elliot over the roof as the latter pulled out a cigarette.

Elliot lit it with a match and flicked it away before replying. "Not your fault," she said shortly, inhaling a deep breath. She held onto the smoke for several seconds before sighing and allowing it to creep out into the air. "Eric's right - I _do_ know my position, as far as he's concerned. It's to do whatever the hell he asks so he doesn't destroy me." Much as she didn't like it, she really didn't have a lot of choice.

Sookie frowned. "That's not right."

"Yeah but like he said - who's going to stop him?" She drew in another breath, turning around to lean her back against the car and blowing the smoke away, closing her eyes. Of all towns to stop in, why, oh why, did she have to choose this one? "Anyway," Elliot said after a few moments. "What do you think it is he wants us to do?" She was still not facing Sookie, though largely because she didn't want to be rude by blowing smoke at her, but her voice carried well enough; the lot was fairly quiet.

"Not sure," Sookie replied, a little nervously. "Last time he just wanted me to listen to humans to see who'd been stealing from him."

Elliot gave a small shrug. "Doesn't sound so bad," she said, a rare effort to keep things on the positive side.

"Well, it wasn't. Until I found out it was this vampire Longshadow, then he attacked me and Bill staked him," Sookie told her.

"Right." Elliot was silent for a while as she finished her cigarette and Sookie climbed into the car, waiting until Elliot was seated before starting up the engine. "So what you're saying is we're looking at a nice, quick, simple job."

"Of course," Sookie said, a tiny giggle escaping her lips. "Surely you know by now, Elliot? _Everything_ with Eric is nice, quick and simple. Why on Earth would this be any different?"

**AN: The chapters that are coming up are my favourites so far, I've really enjoyed writing them and I can't wait to post them! Title comes from 'Breathe' by Taylor Swifte. Let me know what you thought of this chapter and thanks as ever for reading! **


	15. I Am Done With My Graceless Heart

_and I am done with my graceless heart_

_so tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart_

For the next week Elliot didn't hear from Eric once, though she came home one evening to find a message on her voicemail from Pam telling her not to bother coming in on Friday. While that pleased Elliot to no end, she found herself growing somewhat worried about what was going on; Eric had been pretty unrelenting about their Friday night meetings and she didn't think it was like him to change so suddenly but whenever she caught herself thinking about it she reminded herself of how he was. It would probably be for the best, she thought, if he just dropped off the face of the planet. And yet she couldn't bring herself to wish that that was so; somehow, despite the fact that he was annoying, condescending, controlling and a whole host of other things that irritated Elliot, he lurked at the back of her mind and it wasn't in an entirely bad light.

As it was, the vampire had threatened her, forced her to stay here and was planning on exploiting her, but compared to others she could be one hell of a lot worse. That didn't mean she wasn't angry about her situation, but she was beginning to grow used to it. Besides, if he actually _could _help her to control the ability she possessed she'd be eternally grateful and Elliot was inclined to stick around anyway just to see if he was able to. At the very least she hoped he'd have some decent ideas that wouldn't involve drinking his blood, because after Sookie's revelation she was beginning to worry that that might be the only solution; why else hadn't she been able to fully control it after all these years? But she didn't want to think about that; growing used to Eric she might be, but taking his blood was another matter altogether.

Working with the road crew was exhausting but Elliot felt accomplished at the end of each day and was growing friendlier with the guys she spent the day with. Hoyt was a little annoying at times but he was always friendly and well-mannered and he didn't pry, which Elliot appreciated. Apparently Lafayette Reynolds was supposed to be on the road crew but he'd not been seen for a few days so Elliot was yet to meet him; she was told that disappearing for weeks at a time was a 'Lafayette thing' and not to worry; he'd turn up eventually, probably high as a kite and having married someone in Vegas. Jason Stackhouse, Sookie's brother and almost polar opposite, was as hilarious as he was irritating. His flirtations never ceased, even after Elliot had told him straight out that she wasn't looking for anything, but he was fun to be around. They passed the days enjoyably and Elliot lost herself in physical work that allowed little room for worrying about anything else.

On Saturday morning Elliot woke up feeling pretty damn good. Life was getting to be somewhat normal; she talked with people in the day, she was hungry enough to eat when she came home and Eric hadn't bothered her once for six whole days. She was lounging in bed, wondering how exactly she should spend her gloriously free weekend when a knock came at the door. Before she had a chance to get nervous, a familiar voice called up from outside.

"Elliot!" This was followed by more knocking and the brunette frowned; it was Alcide, whom she hadn't spoken to since that somewhat disastrous night, and she was very not sure how she felt about him right now. Her anger had dissipated a little, though it still lingered, but she'd come to her senses enough to realise that Eric disturbing them had probably been a good thing. A very good thing. "Come on, Elliot, open the door! I want to talk to you!"

Rolling off the bed, Elliot very carefully didn't look in the mirror before making her way downstairs, glad that the night had been fairly cool and she'd decided to sleep in sweats instead of shorts. She opened the door but barred the way by angling her shoulders to fill the gap. "What?" she asked, none too politely.

If Alcide was surprised to see her standing there, make-up-less, dressed for bed and with her hair sticking up like a lion's mane, he didn't show it. "I need to talk to you," he told her, a hint of pleading in his tone. "Please."

"Maybe I don't want to talk to you," she suggested, eyes narrowing.

"Look," he said, quickly sticking his boot in the gap as Elliot made to close the door. She sighed. "Whatever I did that you're mad for, I'm sorry, alright?"

"Whatever you did?" Elliot repeated, glaring at him. "_Whatever you did_? How about the fact that _you _didn't bother telling me you're a goddamn _werewolf_, huh?"

Alcide looked shifty. "I thought it might be that," he admitted before his eyes flashed. "Eric told you, didn't he?"

"Yes, actually - he _did_ seeing as you obviously weren't going to." She paused for a second and, when Alcide didn't say anything, Elliot let out her breath in a hiss of anger. "When _were_ you going to tell me, huh? Because you sure as hell didn't _seem_ like you were going to and we were getting pretty damn _personal_ Alcide."

"I was going to tell you, I swear it," he said quickly, holding one hand out as if he could calm her by doing so. "Why are you so mad at me, anyway? You can accept _vampires_ but not werewolves? That's pretty shall-"

"_What_?" The word escaped her as a cry of fury and Elliot flinched as a hideous picture fell off the wall to smash against the wooden floor. "How _dare_ you? You think I'm angry with you _because_ you're a werewolf?"

Alcide made a shushing gesture, looking worriedly over his shoulder but Elliot was far beyond that point by now; she didn't care if the whole damn world heard what she had to say. "I'm angry because I was getting damn well _close_ to you on a serious fucking level and you kept a _massive_ part of yourself hidden from me - a part that, for future reference, _some_ girls might appreciate knowing _before_ you're seriously considering having sex with them."

"I didn't think, okay?" Alcide returned, his voice louder than normal but quieter than Elliot's by far. "I'm _sorry_."

"Like that makes it all better?" Elliot snapped.

"I am," he said, very seriously. "Please believe that I am - I hate that you're mad at me and I wish I'd told you sooner - I wish more than anything that Eric hadn't been the one to tell you. I bet he loved that, didn't he? He couldn't _bear_ to see you with someone else so he just _had_ to stick his nose in." His tone was pure poison but his anger at Eric did not lessen Elliot's fury with him.

"This has _nothing_ to do with Eric," she shot back. "This has to do with me and you and the fact that you didn't bother telling me you turn into a fucking wolf at the full moon. Don't you think I have a right to _know_ who I'm getting involved with?"

"I already told you I didn't _think_," Alcide said, shifting forwards and setting his hands on either side of the door. "I was all caught up in the moment, I wasn't thinking about much beyond...you know. I never meant for that to happen - it just _did_ and it happened before I had a chance to sit you down and tell you and I'm _sorry_ for that. Won't you please just let me come in so we can talk about this rationally?"

"No."

Alcide looked slightly taken aback and Elliot shook her head before he could ask again. "We shouldn't have let ourselves get carried away anyway," she said lowly. "It was good Eric walked in when he did. I can't get attached, I can't let that sort of shit happen."

"You can let yourself be happy, Elliot," Alcide told her quietly. "There's no crime in that."

"Oh, and you're the one to make me happy, are you? Because I have to say I feel pretty fucking _great _right now, Alcide," she bit back at him, scowling fiercely.

"I could make you happier than Eric could," he told her without missing a beat and Elliot's blood burned.

"This is_ not – __about_ - _Eric_," she growled, making each word very clear. "He isn't _trying_ to make me happy and I'm not fool enough to expect him to." Couldn't she take a _breath_ in her life these days without him popping up?

Alcide's expression grew quite suddenly blank and he took a small step back. "So...that's it then? You're done with me?"

"There's nothing to be 'done' with," Elliot told him, perhaps harshly but it was very true. "We never _were_ anything, Alcide. I had a good time with you, and you helped me a lot - I'm thankful for that. But I can't and won't get involved."

He looked mildly upset but his expression soon flashed with something else - determination, maybe. "I'm _sorry_, okay? Why won't you believe that?"

"I do believe that," Elliot told him. "This isn't out of anger, Alcide - it just took that to make me see. It's for the better - for both of us. I can't afford to get involved with anyone."

"You keep saying that but I haven't yet heard a reason _why_," he said roughly. "_Why_ don't you want to be happy?"

Elliot's lips curled into the ghost of a smile. "I don't want to have anything that can be taken away from me," she said tonelessly. "Goodbye, Alcide." And she shut the door. There was a minute of silence before his boots crunched away and Elliot let out her breath; that hurt. Hearing him walk away, telling him nothing could happen - it truly hurt. But it really was for the best.

She headed for the kitchen but stopped short with a gasp as pain lanced through the sole of her foot. Hopping and cursing, Elliot pulled her leg up to inspect the damage; glass. That stupid damn photograph. If she'd been wearing shoes she'd have stomped all over the shards but as it was she continued hopping towards the kitchen where she sat down and removed the glass before sticking a Bandaid in place. "Should've been a nurse," she muttered to herself with a small grin.

Elliot set the coffee on and then sat back at the table, gazing boredly at the salt shaker before she had an idea. Running her tongue over her lower lip, Elliot reached out her right hand, fingers splayed, her expression one of intense concentration. She'd never tried this before; actually calling the power up and attempting to do something with it - her life had mostly consisted of hiding from it, recovering after it burst out and then trying to forget about it until the next time. She'd never considered that it might be useful before because all she'd ever witnessed it do was hurt and ruin. But the other night with Sookie it had potentially saved her life - who knew what that guy would have done if he caught them? That had also not been an uncontrollable burst but an instinct and there had been a difference in the way it felt, as well as the fact that Elliot hadn't lost consciousness after.

Reaching out with her mind, Elliot closed her eyes and sought out the salt shaker. She could feel the other items on the table, could feel everything in the kitchen as if it was all a part of her very skin, but it was the shaker she was after. She could feel it, could detect how full it was. She could feel how heavy it would be if she were to lift it, could feel the weight of it in her hand despite the fact that she hadn't even touched it.

It was something she couldn't explain, something instinctive and wordless - some kind of pull that came not from her mind but from _her_ - from every bit of her. A pull on the air, almost - the wilful wish of holding the salt shaker and then a short scrape filled the air and her palm was cool as she gripped the metal.

Elliot let out a choke of surprise, of elation, and she opened her eyes. She was holding the salt shaker. Turning her hand over, dark eyes widened as she took it in - she was definitely holding it. Her hand hadn't moved and yet here it was, shining dully in the sunlight that streamed through the window. Elliot's fingers tightened around it before she set it back on the table, reaching for it again with her mind only this time she repelled it - she pushed it away and as she watched it slid along the surface of the table to sit beside the pepper pot.

"Holy..._shit._" She was shaking, but not from exhaustion - from shock, from disbelief and from euphoria, yes, but she wasn't tired. She felt...fine. Her tongue moved to run along her lower lip again and Elliot stood up to get coffee, not sure what to think about this development. This was what Eric had meant by learning to control it; he'd wanted her to be able to use it at will, to command it. There was a way - perhaps it would take time, maybe it would take years, but there was a way.

She tried it a few more times, thinking the shaker backwards and forwards in a way she couldn't explain - she just...did it. And now that she was able to, she wondered how she'd never done it before; this was easy. That shaker - she wanted it in her hand and there it was, in her hand. Elliot was grinning, flushed with happiness and success despite the fact that after an hour passed she was beginning to grow weary.

Obviously she was not without her limits, so matter how wilfully she extended her power. But that didn't matter; what mattered was that she did it. Elliot Sanderson could move things without touching them, and oh Christ did it feel _good_.

**AN: Woo! Elliot's not useless after all! Sorry about the delay in the update – the week's gone quickly! But it's Bank Holiday Weekend over here and I have four glorious days off work and instead of enjoying the sun I'm going to be locked away in my room writing this 'cause I'm about to start chapter 19 and it's going to be fun!**

**Title is from Shake It Out by Florence and the Machine (which is a song I think really applies to Elliot and it's generally amazing so you should go check it out on that wondrous invention known as YouTube).**

**Anyway – so the Alcide situation was sort of tied up but I have the feeling he'll be back ;) Let me know what you thought – your reviews keep me going through the days when I just want to crawl under my bed and stay there forever so thank you! Next chapter should be up soon!**


	16. Help Me If You Can

After Elliot had fixed a brief breakfast/lunch, she stuck on a film, drawing the curtains closed and settling down on the sofa, willing herself to relax but she couldn't. Her blood was thrumming with her newfound talent - _talent_, when had she ever been able to think of what she did as a talent? - and sitting still was impossible. Her mind, while tired, was buzzing with the very fact of what she had done - of what she could do - and, tired as she was, she just couldn't sit still.

She was up again before the second scene had ended, pulling the curtains open, throwing the windows wide. She felt _happy_, elated. The need to _do_something boiled her blood and she found herself outside, weeding the flowerbeds. When that was done (abysmally, as it happened; Elliot had never been green-fingered) she lay on the lawn to soak up the sun, grinning at absolutely nothing and refusing to let a single black thought cross her mind.

Today, she was happy. Today she didn't want to worry about anything; she just wanted to enjoy the fact that maybe, just maybe, her life was turning upwards. She had everything in the world to be happy about, didn't she? She had a house, she had a friend in Sookie and a friend in Morgan, she had a job. Michael seemed miles away; he hadn't caught up with her in months - it was possible that he had finally forgotten about her. Eric had been almost nice when she last saw him - almost - helpful, certainly, and he hadn't bugged her for a week. Her curse was maybe not so much of a curse after all. The sun was out; the sky was blue. So yes, she had reason to be happy. Elliot enjoyed being happy for an entire afternoon until the sun had faded away and inky darkness crept out to take its place.

Somehow, hours had passed by without her realising; she'd stayed on the lawn for the afternoon, shifting only to coat herself in sunscreen to avoid burning and fetch a book. Elliot was almost dozing when she sensed that somebody was watching her and she sat up so quickly she got a head rush, stumbling slightly as she gained her feet. The yard was empty, the trees on the edge thick with shadows and who knew what else.

Heart beginning to pound a little harder than it ought to, Elliot took a step back towards the house, eyes darting from right to left. She could sense tension in the air, or maybe that was just coming from her, and she felt itchy with eyes on her. The book was not going to prove much of a weapon. She'd settled in the middle of the lawn so the house was several steps away and Elliot was just considering taking her chances and running for it when Eric stepped out of the shadows.

"Elliot," he greeted, coming closer at a human pace so she'd be able to see him approach.

"Eric," she returned, inclining her head a little. Relief was coursing through her at the sight of him; just Eric, nothing to worry about. Hopefully. At least it hadn't been a raging wolf or dragon or something. Just her friendly neighbourhood vampire. Coming to stand very close to her and looking...tense. Eric had never looked tense before. Elliot bit her lip as she stared up at him. "Something wrong?"

Eric cast a glance about before his blue eyes flashed back to her. "Yes," he said seriously. "Something is very wrong, I think. Can we go inside? I have something I need to discuss with you."

Surprised, Elliot nodded; there wasn't a lot else she could do seeing as Eric could force his way in very easily anyway. Opening her front door, she stepped back so the vampire could move inside and she looked towards the refrigerator. "Do you want a TruBlood?" she asked him, wandering into the kitchen and tossing the book on the table. She'd bought them a few days ago for precisely this kind of situation. Eric nodded.

"That would be...pleasant. Thank you." It was clear that he didn't think it would be at all pleasant but at least he was being polite. Elliot grabbed a bottle and frowned at it before sticking it in the microwave and turning back to Eric.

"How long does it go in for?"

"Depends." Moving fluidly so he was beside her, Eric looked over the machine for a few seconds before pushing the right buttons. The microwave hummed into life and Elliot stood back with a small shrug. She leaned against the counter and stood in silence as the microwave heated the bottle, looking towards it as it beeped to pull the door open. She handed the bottle to Eric and nodded him towards one of the chairs. Elliot took the other one.

"Do you want a glass?" she asked, to fill the awkward silence.

"This is fine." Eric looked like he was bracing himself before taking a sip, forcing the stuff down before fixing a wholly unpleasant smile in place. "Mmm." He set the bottle down, sliding it slightly away from him as though worried he could catch something from it. "I'd much prefer the real thing," he added, flashing Elliot a tiny smirk but she could tell his heart wasn't in it; something was eating at him.

Not replying to his comment, she simply looked at him, waiting for him to tell her what was going on. But he was hesitant, silent, watching her as though he expected her to solve all of his problems. He was worried. Very worried.

"Eric you're scaring me," Elliot told him, swallowing hard. "What's wrong? What happened? Has someone died?"

"Someone's always died," he said matter-of-factly.

"Well what then?" Because he sure as hell wasn't acting like himself; while Elliot could hardly claim to know him very well, this was definitely not normal Eric behaviour and she could feel the worry, the anxiety, coming off him in waves.

Eric waited for a second, seemingly figuring out what he was going to say before he opened his mouth. "I didn't want to involve you in this," he began, looking straight at her. "I considered it, very seriously, but Pam didn't think it was a good idea. In fact I'm not even sure it's a good idea any more. But I don't have a lot of choice."

This didn't sound too good, but Elliot said nothing, simply waved at him to continue.

"A very important vampire has gone missing from the Dallas area, leaving no trace of himself behind. His nest mates are getting worried and I myself am anxious for his return." Eric was watching her closely, waiting for some kind of reaction. Elliot gave a slight frown.

"Okay," she said, dragging out the second syllable. "I uh...I'm sorry for you, and for him, but I don't really see where I come in or how I could be of any use. You're the only vampire I know."

"You can certainly be of use," Eric said. "The other night was what really made me think of it - the human, he chased you?" Elliot nodded. "And you threw him back with your ability. To protect yourself and Sookie Stackhouse?" Elliot nodded again and Eric sat back in his chair. "Therein lies your use to me."

Elliot thought it over. "To protect...Sookie?"

"Yes."

"Because you want to do what, exactly, with her?"

Eric looked as though he was seriously considering telling her it was none of her business before he seemed to think better of it. "I plan on using her to track down who took him."

Elliot's eyes went wide and she found herself leaning slightly forwards. "You think humans took him?" she asked, shocked.

"I'm sure of it."

"Shit." Elliot sat back in her chair and let out a low whistle.

"Indeed. I'm sure you can guess at what they plan on doing to him." Eric spoke emotionlessly but his eyes were burning with anger, with the desire for revenge.

Elliot's teeth were in her lip as she absorbed this, feeling sickened. "But...why? How?" She gave her head a slight shake to clear it. "If he's so important, he must be powerful? How could humans possibly have taken him?"

"That is what worries me."

"But surely it's impossible?" She, for one, was very aware of the fact that she wouldn't have been able to overpower Eric in a million years.

"There are ways," he said stiffly. Evidently he wasn't going to elaborate on what exactly those ways were and Elliot frowned thoughtfully. After a long moment, Eric broke the silence. "Will you help?"

Elliot's eyes flashed up to the vampire's face. "Do I have a choice?"

"If I said you did, what would your decision be?" Eric asked, expression unreadable.

"Yes," Elliot told him after a beat. "I'd help. I'll help."

Eric nodded as though he had expected that and unfolded himself from the chair. "I thank you," he said, still very serious. "I need to speak with Bill, and with Sookie, perhaps. I shall contact you soon."

He turned to leave and Elliot made a snap decision. "Wait!" Eric paused at the door, turning expectantly.

"Look - if I'm going to be using this ability for you-" she started but Eric lifted a hand and she cut herself off, blinking at him.

"Of course I will pay you." The words fell unexpectedly into the air and Elliot frowned, momentarily sidetracked.

"What?"

Eric's expression also creased into a frown. "That was not what you were going to ask of me?"

"No." Pay her? Since when had money come into this agreement? Not that Elliot didn't like money; she did, but she'd been under the impression that Eric was going to use her under threat of her life on the assumption that that was all he would need. Which, as it happened, was true. "I didn't realise this was a job."

"I told you before this was a business agreement," Eric reminded her lightly. "You will have to miss work for this particular task - I will pay you for your efforts. You have my word."

Stumped, Elliot didn't know what she was expected to say. "Okay," she nodded slowly, a little suspicious. "Thanks." Though now he'd brought that up she found the back of her mind buzzing away at worrying things like flights to Dallas, clothes that would be needed, hotel rooms - she shoved them away; they were not what she had stopped Eric to mention. He seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

"Then what was it you wished to say?"

"Nothing," Elliot said, and Eric's face fell a little in irritation. "I wanted to show you something." She'd peaked his curiosity there and the vampire moved back into the kitchen, eyes glittering.

"Show me."

Elliot pulled in her breath, focused on tuning everything out but the salt shaker; she'd tried with a few other things that morning but the shaker, being her first, was now an old favourite. When she had the familiar grasp of it in her mind, Elliot willed it towards her and closed her fingers around the sharp coldness of it, grinning in satisfaction as Eric let out a small breath of surprise.

"Elliot," he said, staring between her face and the shaker. "You did this by yourself?"

"Yep." She was grinning with pride at the action; she was, even just a few hours after the first time, a lot quicker at it than she had been this morning. The shaker's path through the air was steadier, it was swifter. She was improving quickly and she knew it; for the first time in a long time, she was proud of herself and Eric's smile only heightened that. Somehow, she was delighted to have impressed him.

"That's brilliant," he told her sincerely. "Really Elliot - truly brilliant." He seemed to be struggling with the compliments so Elliot shrugged at him to save him from trying to think of something better. She looked back at the shaker, standing on her flat palm, and willed it away - back towards the table. It rose an inch from her hand before drifting backwards and settling back in place with a small click of sound.

Elliot turned to look back at Eric. "I want to try doing it so it lands silently," she told him, shoving her hands in her pockets, suddenly uncomfortable. "I'm going to practice that tomorrow."

"I'm sure you'll manage it," he said with confidence. Some of the worry had erased itself from his features; he actually looked like he was bordering on excitement.

"Careful," she was saying before she could stop herself. "You look like you're having an emotion. Wouldn't want you to break or anything." But her lips curled ever so slightly at the side as she spoke; she didn't want to ruin the fact that he'd just smiled despite having looked near to despair just a few minutes ago.

Eric hastily rearranged his face into a suitably blank expression, though his eyes glinted at her. "You make a good point." Elliot's almost hidden smile widened into something more before she cleared her throat.

"So...thanks for stopping by," she said, eyes landing on the TruBlood. "You didn't finish your drink."

"I suddenly find myself not thirsty for the bottled stuff," Eric said casually, his fangs flashing into existence. Elliot shifted backwards ever so slightly and he gave an almost invisible nod to acknowledge her reluctance. He took a step backwards himself, towards the door. "Sleep well, Miss Sanderson. I'll be in touch." And then he was gone, leaving Elliot feeling oddly lonely in the empty house.

**AN: I know in the show Eric doesn't drink TruBlood but he does in the books so I'm going with that...deal with it. The title is a line from The Beatles' 'Help'.**

**The Elliot/Eric dynamic was a little different this chapter – let me know what you thought of it, if it was realistic, if you hated it - all that good stuff.**

**Reviews make me happy and shiny and I have a day at home tomorrow so I may put up chapter 17 very early as a June 10th gift to you all :P**


	17. If It's Just Tonight

_if it's not forever_

_if it's just tonight_

* * *

><p>After Eric's visit, Elliot found herself a little nervous. The vampire had gone missing from Dallas, which was miles away and it was most likely that he'd been abducted by vampire haters, but still she couldn't fight off the feeling that nothing was quite safe anymore. Of course, for a long time she'd felt unsafe, but that had been the threat of Michael lingering at the edges of her thoughts – now it was an outside threat, a threat that worried even Eric.<p>

Sunday passed without mishap, as did the rest of the week but late on Friday night Morgan called; she was bored. Morgan being bored was not a good thing, in Elliot's experience, because the blonde tended to find trouble when it struck. She was moaning down the phone, imploring Elliot to swing by so they could find something to do – she'd heard a new club was opening nearby that they could go check out.

"Or we could go to that vampire bar again – you didn't really get a chance to enjoy it last time," Morgan was saying as Elliot wandered aimlessly through her house.

"No," she said, too quickly. "Not there."

"Why not? Come on – it'd be fun; you could use some of that," Morgan wheedled. Elliot could detect the puppy-dog eyes even through the phone. She was shaking her head, unseen to the blonde on the other end.

"I don't think it's open tonight," she lied casually.

Morgan gave a slight laugh. "Yes it is – I checked." She was grinning; Elliot could hear it in her voice. Typical of her to check, as well; impulsive she was indeed but prepared she was also. "So, I'll meet you at that little bar, yeah? Morty's?"

"Merlotte's," Elliot corrected automatically. "But-"

"Great – I'll see you in an hour!" The phone clicked as it went dead and Elliot sighed, setting it on the table. She did _not_want to go to Fangtasia, partly because she was getting more worried with every passing day about the missing vampire and partly because she wasn't at all sure how Eric would react to her being there. Probably not well; he'd been fine when she last saw him – nice, even – but she didn't think he'd appreciate her dropping by unexpectedly.

She had no doubt, however, that if she didn't go then Morgan would just go alone; that girl was too obsessed with danger for her own good. Elliot kicked the couch, which only served to make her more annoyed as her toes throbbed with pain, and accepted that tonight would probably be unpleasant. With a little luck it would be Eric's night off and Pam wouldn't even realise that she was there and the Viking would never know; that was the best case scenario. Worst case...Elliot didn't want to think about it.

As she got ready, Elliot extended tiny bursts of will power to amuse herself; she'd been practising and improving at a much faster rate than she ever had at anything in high school. Reaching out a hand, she summoned mascara towards her, grinning at her reflection as it landed right in her palm before she applied the stuff, making a face in the mirror. She'd never been a fan of make-up but Morgan would only give out if she tried going out without making some kind of effort.

Face painted on, Elliot turned to survey her room, wondering what to wear. "Screw it," she muttered, grabbing a crumpled pair of jeans from the floor; she'd made the effort with make-up so she felt perfectly within her rights to wear whatever she wanted. She tugged the jeans on, followed by a close fitting tank top, a loose shirt worn over the top – boring, usual wear. Comfortable, not sexy, not attention grabbing; exactly what she was after.

She was running late; the direct result of putting off getting ready in the hopes that Morgan would call back with a change of plans, but soon enough she was yanking on boots and racing out the door, trailing laces behind her. Elliot threw her hand out towards the kitchen table without looking, beckoning with a tiny exertion of will and her keys shot towards her, fingers curling to catch them. She was unable to hide the pleased grin that spread over her face as a result and it was with a light heart that she locked the door and stepped off the porch.

Elliot drove the short way to Merlotte's with the radio blasting, singing loudly. She was grinning when she screeched to a halt next to Morgan, who gave her a knowing grin in return. "You look cheerful," she commented, clambering into the passenger's seat and shooting Elliot an exaggerated wink. "Met a guy, have you?"

"What? No," Elliot told her, shaking her head quickly. "I told you I-"

"Uuuh huh – I've heard _that_before." Morgan grinned impishly. "So you're not gonna be picking anyone up tonight then?" the blonde continued, reaching to turn the radio down a little so they could talk as Elliot pulled away.

"Nope. I don't want anything to happen – I told you; I don't want to date anyone. Period." Not after Michael. Morgan arched a disbelieving eyebrow before shrugging it off.

"Well I, for one, want to spend as much of the night as possible with a hot vampire," she said shamelessly.

Elliot gave her head a soft shake. "You know they're dangerous, right? As in, not just pretty boys in suits – they're real, proper...dangerous things." Patronising, perhaps, but Elliot couldn't help but worry that Morgan had no idea what she was getting herself into. The blonde gave a careless laugh, waving a hand through the air to demonstrate how unworried she was.

"I'm a big girl, Elliot," she assured her friend before turning the music up a little. The two joined together in bellowing out a heavy rock song, switching to a low croon when that ended and a ballad took its place.

Overall, the ride was pleasant; when Elliot managed to forget that they were going to Fangtasia and that she had no idea how Eric would react to her being there, she could almost convince herself that she and Morgan were going for a silly girl's night out, just singing along to the radio as if nothing in the world mattered. Of course, it did matter, and soon enough she pulled up into the lot and then it was undeniable; she had actually, somehow, let herself be talked into coming here.

"C'mon," Morgan grinned, scrambling out of the car and adjusting her super short dress so it looked a little more appropriate while Elliot locked the doors; central locking was a luxury the car had not trundled along with.

Pam wasn't at the door; it was a vampire Elliot didn't recognise, which she was grateful for – maybe she could just blend in with the crowd and lie low until Morgan wanted to leave. Being the designated driver, she could hardly get Solomon to throw her together any kind of magical drink like he had last time, though opening herself up to the energy of the room had done wonders to her mood before and she wasn't against trying it again.

The queue took a while to go down, despite the fact that the hour was already late, and Elliot belatedly came to realise that it was payday for a lot of people and a decent amount of them, apparently, had decided to come and spend their hard earned money here. Eric was probably looking on and rubbing his hands together as the easily swayed tourists lined his pockets, but in a way Elliot thought _good for him_; he'd seen where he could make money and taken advantage of it. If people were stupid enough to want their kicks from sticking plastic fangs in their mouths and goggling at vampires, who was she to judge Eric for making a profit off them?

They were carded at the door before being allowed inside and Morgan tugged Elliot across to the bar at once, trailing painted fingernails over a dark haired man's chest as she passed him. She flashed a wink at someone else and Elliot hid a grin by ducking her head; Morgan had, like Elliot, decided to stay away from the dating game but it seemed that the blonde was not so good at sticking to resolutions. Or maybe mindless flirting just didn't count.

"What do you want, Elliot?" Morgan called out over the music, prodding the brunette in the shoulder to get her attention; dark eyes had instinctively wandered around in search of Eric.

"Oh – uh, just a Coke, thanks – don't fancy crashing on the way back," she replied, turning to the bar and starting slightly upon recognising the vampire there. He flashed her a grin.

"Miss Elliot!" The greeting was cheerful and accompanied by a deep, appreciative intake of breath while Morgan glanced between the two with a slight frown. "Mr Eric buy you drinks again this night?"

Elliot shot a quick look at Morgan before deciding to simply roll with it. "Nah – Morgan's getting this one, right?" she asked, nudging the brunette in the ribs. "I'm driving, see," Elliot added as explanation to Solomon.

He nodded his understanding before asking Morgan what she wanted and turning away to mix something up. Morgan turned a smirk onto Elliot. "I _knew_you'd found a guy," she laughed, delighted; she was perking up just from the atmosphere of the place.

"He's just friendly," Elliot told her, lips curling at the side. Morgan looked like she was going to say something else but Solomon slid drinks over the bar and she turned away to hand him some cash while Elliot took her glass and sipped at it. Morgan had something a little stronger - Elliot could smell it from where she was sitting, and the blonde winced as it went down in a single gulp. "Nice?"

"Not in the slightest," Morgan shuddered, before flashing Elliot a white grin. "But if it does the trick I don't care too much." Elliot gave a slight shrug, taking another sip of Coke and leaning her back against the bar. "Right, I'm going to the bathroom to freshen up before I hit the dance floor - you coming?"

Elliot shook her head. "Nah, I'll wait here for a bit," she replied, glancing at the people nearby. They were pretty much all fangbangers, with the exception of one female vampire who was standing very close to one of them, arms wrapped around him. The guy looked like he could hardly believe his luck and Elliot smirked into her glass as Morgan fought her way through the crowd.

After a moment of sitting still, Elliot relaxed a little, opening herself up the tiniest bit to the energy pumping through the club, sucking it in like breath. She felt a buzz almost at once, her blood singing with the simple mindlessness that came of going out for some fun and her lips spread into a grin. She wanted a drink now - something to up the energy inside her - but resisted; if she got drunk there'd be no-one to drive home and sleeping in her car was uncomfortable at the best of times.

A hand met her shoulder with a touch lighter than she could imagine and Elliot turned with a small grin. "What? No hot vamps in the- oh." Morgan had not touched her shoulder; Eric had. For a second Elliot's stomach flipped, unsure as to how he was going to react at her being there, but he looked cheerful enough. He was smiling, at least, the sharp edges of his fangs just visible beneath his lip.

"No hot vampires in the where?" he asked wryly, arching an eyebrow.

"Oh, the um...the bathroom," Elliot said, mildly embarrassed. "I thought you were someone else."

"I should hope so," Eric returned. "I don't go looking for _hot vampires_in my bathrooms."

Elliot, spurred forward by the energy that had trickled into her, decided to play along. "Oh? Where do you look for hot vampires then, Mr Northman?"

"The mirror," he told her without missing a beat, a smirk widening his mouth so his fangs were twice as visible. Elliot's breath gushed out in the ghost of a laugh; she'd walked right into that.

"You show up in them, then?"

"Of course," Eric said, as if that was painfully obvious. He folded himself to lean against the bar; with her sitting on the stool she had to look up even more to see his face but the movement brought him slightly closer to her level. People were casting them furtive glances, no doubt wondering what _the_Eric Northman was doing at the bar, talking to a human and looking like he didn't mind one bit. Elliot tried to ignore them. "You aren't denying that I'm a hot vampire, as you put it," he noted casually.

Elliot shot him a sideways look, entirely unsure of how to reply. "Were you expecting me to?"

"Yes," he told her bluntly. "I didn't think you liked me at all."

"Liking you is very different to recognising that you're an attractive guy," Elliot said with a slight shrug. If Eric took that as a compliment, he didn't show it; she hadn't exactly meant it as one, more of a statement of fact than a way of stroking his ego. "And I never said I didn't like you." Where had _that_ come from? Maybe the energy from the club had worked its way into her more deeply than she'd realised. Certainly her tongue was a lot looser than normal. Eric had straightened a little at her words. "I just never said that I _liked_you." She needed to shut up.

Eric was watching her with an expression that said he was mildly amused but also taking this more seriously than Elliot had meant it. "Look - everyone's watching us now," he told her without looking at the crowds; she suspected that he just assumed people watched him wherever he went. Annoyingly, that assumption was correct.

"They're watching you, not me," she said mildly, drinking some more Coke and opening herself a little more to the energy as nerves began to creep very gently at the edges of her consciousness, largely brought on by the onlookers. Eric leaned down, lips twisted into a smirk.

"Well I'd hate to disappoint them. How about a dance with a hot vampire who you don't dislike, but you don't like either?" he suggested, amusement falling from every word. Elliot turned to look him right in the eyes, trying to ignore the fact that that made their faces very close.

"You don't care about disappointing them," she pointed out, slightly breathlessly before she pulled her head back a little, trying to focus; the energy was making her head spin delightfully, her heart racing like it had somewhere to be.

Eric gave a short laugh. "I don't," he agreed. "I'd very much like to dance with you though - so how about it?"

Not at all sure that that was a good idea, Elliot cracked herself open a tiny bit more and the atmosphere of the club washed through her so suddenly, the energy so pure, that she swayed a little on the stool. Her lips pulled into a grin alight with life and she was on her feet, Eric's hand was at her waist and the crowd was parting for them - for him - as they walked to the middle of the floor.

The song had a heavy beat, made all the heavier by the slight numbness around her senses, and Elliot closed her eyes for a long moment, letting it wash through her, moving unconsciously as she always did with the music. Music had been an enjoyment of hers from a young age - she had picked up a flute at the age of five, a violin two years later, sat before a piano three years after that. She didn't master one in particular, rather enjoyed each for a time before moving along. Singing had been a constant, though again never a mastered art - she'd never bothered with gigs, shows or concerts. Elliot took her enjoyment simply from the act of it - from letting the music flow through her blood like the very energy that drove her.

It had been a long time since she had entirely given over to the rhythms and beats that had once been her only escape from her curse but it was easy to do it all over again - made a million times easier as Eric seemed to flow with the music was though he was a part of her, as though he felt it the same way.  
>His hands drifted from her waist to her hips as he tugged her closer, pulling her to him in a needlessly intimate embrace; the song was quick, fast, heavy - it called for movement, for joy, but there was something about moving with Eric, and only with Eric, that felt just as right. Elliot was pretty sure that neither of them was dancing to the music anymore; both were enchanted by something entirely different but wholly pure. Something dangerous but somehow sweet - something familiar that still had the sharp edge of a stranger. Her curse, come to haunt them, or perhaps to embrace them.<p>

Eric's fangs grazed over her neck and Elliot reached her hand up behind him to rest on his shoulder; she wasn't sure if she was warning him away or encouraging him to bite. Eric seemed caught by the same dilemma and his breath rushed along her neck, sending shivers right down her spine, causing her back to arch and their bodies to press closer still. His fangs touched against her skin again and her blood seemed to light up with desire, her energy screaming for him.

"Not here," she managed to say, her voice tickling against his ear. Eric held her more tightly for a second and Elliot wondered if maybe he'd bite anyway but he pulled back before his teeth made contact again. His eyes were wide, bright and full of something wild.

"Come," he said gruffly. He didn't wait for her to agree or move herself, simply wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, making a quick exit from the club. Elliot, half-stumbling as she tried to keep up with him without falling down, hardly registered where she was going except that Eric was taking her there and right now that was absolutely fine by her.

Impatient, Eric took her into his arms and sped the rest of the way, banging into his office and slamming the door closed so definitively that he didn't think anyone would dare disturb him. There was stuff on his desk that dug into Elliot's legs and back as he deposited her onto it but that didn't matter; what mattered was Eric's lips on hers, his hands on her, the fire in her blood.

What mattered was that she was kissing him back, had her hands in his hair, was pulling him closer - wanted nothing more than for him to be closer. He had his mouth at her neck again, his fangs descended and he paused for a second - a very brief second.

"You are sure?" It was more than he offered most people; the chance to back out now, to tell him no.

In response, Elliot's fingers wound themselves more tightly through his hair; she pulled him closer and that was everything he needed. There was a sharp sting that was more pleasant than painful and Elliot gasped with surprise, her body jerking against him as his hands wound tightly around her, pulling her closer and closer - so close Elliot worried somewhere in the back of her mind that her bones might break.

A noise escaped her and Eric seemed to shudder, mouth still fixed against her neck, his other hand moving upwards to tug her into a more manoeuvrable position when the door banged open.

"Eric!" The voice was a gasp of horror, of desperation. Elliot and Eric both jerked with surprise and Eric whipped around with something akin to fury in his features to see Bill standing in the doorway. "You have to help me!"

**AN: First of all – TRUE BLOOD TONIGHT EEE! Although as I live in annoying England I can't watch it until tomorrow but still – I feel like we've been waiting forever for this and it's finally here! So I decided to update as a Happy True Blood Day gift sort of thing, and this happens to be my personal favourite chapter so...that's cool.**

**Title is from Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon.**

**So...what did you think? Too early? I was going to make this happen quite a bit after this but they just sort of took control and who am I to stop them? Besides, it's chapter 17 – it had to happen eventually ;) But anyway – let me know what you thought, feedback on this chapter in particular will be **_**hugely**_** appreciated and I love you all and thank you so much for reading up until this point and TRUE BLOOD TONIGHT so happiness all around!**


	18. A Friend In Need

It took Elliot several seconds to land in the present and by that time Eric had already reacted and was standing in front of Bill. His back blocked most of the image from view but Elliot was no fool; she recognised the blond hair in an instant and her breath escaped her as a quick gasp, the previous moments forgotten as she rushed over.

"Sookie?"

"_Eric_," Bill hissed. His expression told of a deep desperation, a terror so great he was shaking. "Please." He seemed not to have noticed Elliot, which was fine by her; she was standing uselessly, staring wide-eyed at the lifeless form in Bill's arms. She was limp, covered in blood; her mouth was streaked at the edges with dried blood and something that made Elliot's stomach turn over. She swallowed, hard, and jerked as Eric took her arm and pulled her out of the office, tugging her with him as he directed Bill to a back room of the club.

Sookie was laid on a some kind of leather couch, Eric was talking quickly down the phone at someone and Bill was kneeling at the waitress's side, clutching at her hand and muttering at her, words nobody else could hear. Elliot was just watching numbly, out of place and unnecessary and yet unable to leave when one of the two people she counted as a friend was teetering on the fine line between life and death.

Before even minutes had passed, a short woman with an...unusual face and a brisk manner had strolled into the room, ignoring everyone except Sookie. She went straight to the blonde's side, a case set by her feet. "Get back," she snapped at Bill, who moved hastily to stand a stride away at the command, watching fearfully as the woman, whom Elliot had concluded was probably a goblin of some kind, rooted around in the case. It was a testament to how shocked she was that the idea of somebody being at least part goblin didn't give Elliot cause for surprise at all; all she could think about were the hideous gashes that had cleaved Sookie's back apart, her skin torn and raised, bleeding sluggishly. She didn't have long left; you didn't have to be a doctor to realise that.

Feeling faintly sick, Elliot closed her eyes and leant against the wall; she wanted to leave but was afraid that walking across the room and opening the door would cause an unwelcome disturbance in the tense atmosphere. She didn't want to run the risk of interrupting the doctor when Sookie's life hung in the balance, so she hunched her shoulders and ducked her head low. The stench of blood was choking, familiar in its metallic bite as it curled through the air.

Elliot's fists tightened, eyes pressing hard together as she struggled to keep her breathing even. Sookie's blood, not hers. _Not hers_. There was no Michael here; there was only Eric, Bill, Sookie and the strange woman. And yet still the stink of the blood called forth flashes; a fist, a yell, a bang. A door slamming, her own cry of pain, the wetness of blood against her fingers.

A scream jerked her back into the room and Elliot's eyes snapped open, taking a step forward before she remembered herself. Bill had flinched, his arms folded so tightly over his chest his veins stood out starkly against his pale skin. His dark eyes were fixed on Sookie, who was choking her name out in a spasm of agony at the doctor's question. Elliot's heart was thumping erratically; if Sookie hadn't just spoken she could have been dead. Her skin was pale enough to rival Bill's, dark shadows under her eyes reminding Elliot of her own reflection from a lifetime ago. She closed her eyes again, startling with surprise as Bill yelled out, gasping in a quick breath before she pulled herself together.

"Forgive him," Eric drawled, dragging Elliot's eyes to him with some surprise; she had somehow forgotten that he was there. "Bill is abnormally attached to this human." As he spoke, his eyes were kept very pointedly from Elliot, who suddenly became aware of a discomfort at her throat. Lifting up a hand to touch it she felt the two marks Eric had left, sore and wet with her blood. Blood that had even now begun to dry in a small rivet down her neck. She dropped her hand, wiped her fingers on her jeans, tried not to think. Perhaps minutes ago it had been but already it felt like an age.

The doctor was speaking but Elliot was paying no attention; her stomach was twisted with a sick feeling, her eyes falling unwillingly on Sookie's torn back. The sight made her feel ill and yet somehow she couldn't pull her gaze away; the ripped flesh, the jagged edges of the cuts, the bruising that surrounded them. Hideous, sickening - Elliot couldn't even begin to imagine how much it hurt, would never want to.

Her head was swimming; the smell of blood was getting thicker by the second. The noises from the room were a dim buzz, a gentle irritant against the horror of the images before her until she managed to force her eyes closed once again. But closing them made little difference; true enough she couldn't see Sookie, but she could still see a tear against her own stomach, one made not with claws but with glass. She could almost feel the blood wetting her shirt, the stab of pain that had threatened to topple her before she'd even absorbed what had happened.

Somebody had hold of her arms, was tugging her forwards. Elliot's eyes opened and she blinked up at Eric. He was regarding her curiously, jerking his head towards the door. "Come on," he said lowly, and Elliot followed him, a reluctant Bill on her heels. Eric led them to his office and gave Elliot a gentle shove onto the couch against the wall before he turned to Bill. "Explain."

Bill was pacing up and down but stopped after a minute or two. Both Eric and Elliot were watching him expectantly. "I'm not sure of exactly what happened," he admitted, turning to his sheriff with a grimace. "The creature was in the woods - it attacked her. Sookie said it had a bull's head but a human body." There was a pause while the two vampires looked at each other with matching expressions of cluelessness and Elliot simply sat, knowing she wasn't exactly going to be of much use.

Eric wandered in a purposeless journey across the office, thinking hard. He turned, eyes landing on Bill. "The head of a bull?" he asked, frowning deeply. He looked troubled.

"That's what she said," Bill nodded, turning to watch Eric walk back towards his desk. "It was dark - it all happened in seconds." Elliot wasn't sure what he was trying to achieve by clarifying that but all the same. The head of a bull and the body of a man was a little hard to wrap her head around appearing near Shreveport but not as hard as one might expect; such a figure was, at least, familiar from the old stories.

"You didn't see this ah...bull man?" Eric said. The vampires were staring at each other, Eric looking curious, Bill uncomfortable. He gave his head a tiny shake.

"No."

A pause. "You gave her your blood?" Honestly, Elliot had never felt more left out of a conversation in her life. She was looking between the two like she was watching a tennis match, sitting silent on the couch, blood drying around the marks in her neck. She'd never wanted to be in the little house she called home so badly in her life.

Bill shifted uncomfortably. "It didn't work," he admitted, shame-faced. If he'd not been dead Elliot was sure he'd be flushing right now. Eric made a small sound but didn't say anything. "Have you ever heard of anything like this?" Bill asked him, imploring.

"Surprisingly no," Eric replied. There it was; that arrogance that didn't even seem like arrogance with Eric - it was more like an accepted fact of his life that he was the biggest, cleverest, richest, _bestest_ guy in any room. If the night hadn't been so damn weird Elliot would have rolled her eyes. As it was, she could forgive Eric his surprise; he had, she supposed, been alive for a thousand years.

While Bill and Elliot remained quiet, Eric summoned Pam and the vampire who'd carded Elliot at the door. There was a brief exchange between them and the two walked out, not without a very pointed sigh and face-pull from Pam which made Elliot grin a little. Eric and Bill started talking amongst themselves again and Elliot frowned at them; were they just playing dumb or something?

"Um," she said, to catch their attention. Both Eric and Bill turned to look at her; the former interestedly, the latter impassively. "This bull-man thing? That's a Minotaur, right?" The vampires turned to glance at each other but at that moment a scream ripped through the air and Bill shot from the room before anyone could so much as blink. Elliot made to follow but Eric was in the doorway, his hands gripping her shoulders. "What?" she asked him when he didn't speak.

"Are you alright?" The question seemed weird from his lips; it wasn't one he asked often.

Elliot shrugged, though that did nothing to dislodge his hands. "Fine," she replied in a voice that was pretty close to casual. Her skin was still paler than usual but she felt a lot better since leaving the room, though her stomach was taut with worry.

"You don't look fine," Eric commented. Another scream, this one longer, higher, more horrifying, tore through to the office and Elliot jerked instinctively.

"We should go and help," she said, tugging uselessly against Eric's grip. "She's hurt _badly_ Eric, do you _get_ that?" Elliot demanded once it became clear that his focus was not on Sookie, not even close.

"Of course I 'get that'," he returned, eyes narrowing a shade. "But there's little I can do - Dr Ludwig is the best I have to offer, and Bill is with her." His words rang true but Elliot still felt awful, keeping out of the way in the office while Sookie screamed like that; she sounded as though Dr Ludwig was gutting her. But Bill would never let that happen. Would he?

Elliot's gaze flickered up to Eric's blue one. "You trust her?"

"Yes. Sookie is in good hands."

"So what? We just sit here and wait?" Elliot said, annoyed. She didn't like feeling useless; she wanted to help, though even she had to recognise that storming in there right now wasn't going to help matters.

Eric's lips twisted. "Well," he said softly, leaning closer. "There were a few other things I had in mind..." He trailed off, his right hand moving from her shoulder to brush over the wound in her neck, fangs glittering under the artificial light of the office.

"No." Elliot reached up to take hold of his hand, stopping its movement. She pulled his fingers away and Eric's arm dropped to his side, his expression the picture of surprise. "You can't honestly think that - with Sookie, and Morgan! Shit, _Morgan_!" Elliot banged herself in the forehead as she remembered the blonde friend she'd last seen heading for the bathrooms. Eric blinked at her.

"What is it?" he asked, letting her go as she pushed forward, slipping around the side of him and through the door.

"Morgan - she's the girl I came with, I just _left_ her out there." So in one night she'd effectively been utterly useless to all of her friends. Shooting a scowl at Eric, who was following her, Elliot shook her head. "This is your fault," she told him, nettled. "You, with your...your _looks_ and your dancing and your...your..." His _everything_, really. She'd been utterly entranced and now she felt like an utter fool - this was her fault, but blaming Eric made her feel a tiny bit better. He just looked amused.

The music from the club got louder and louder with every step until it swelled almost unbearably the second Elliot opened the door into the main part of the building, Eric close behind her. She tugged the collar of her jacket upwards to cover her neck, self-conscious of the marks and the dried blood that made them so noticeable, but Eric reached out to pull it back down a second later. He leaned close enough that his chin brushed against her cheek. "Don't," he said, directly into her ear, his breath on her skin making her shiver. "I like to see them."

It was pointless to argue. Elliot looked around for the blonde head, wondering how the club was still thrumming when there was a woman half dead in one of the back rooms. It had drawn close to closing time, however, and Eric made a signal to Solomon, who nodded. "Bar is closed!" Elliot heard his call even over the music and there was a collective sound of disappointment as people began slowly preparing themselves to leave.

"I can't see her," Elliot said, staring around, heart hammering. What if she'd been abducted? Stolen away by some guy who'd use her and then dump her body to be discovered tomorrow morning. She didn't realise she was shaking until Eric set his hand very gently against the back of her neck, his thumb brushing over her skin.

"Relax," he said, steering her to face towards the right. "I see her." He directed her through the crowd, his hand still resting gently at the top of her spine, until Elliot came across her friend, wrapped close with a human guy (somewhat surprisingly). She'd had a lot to drink, that much was obvious, but she recognised Elliot as soon as she saw her, stumbling close for a hug.

Eric remained exactly how he was even as Elliot stiffened, Morgan's arms pulling around her, accidentally elbowing Eric in the ribs as she did so. This drew her attention to him and she stepped back, looking impressed as her gaze moved knowingly between the two. "I knew-" she began, but Elliot cut her off.

"C'mon - we're going home," she said firmly, shooting a vaguely apologetic glance at the guy she'd been dancing with. He looked crestfallen.

Eric turned to look at her, obviously disappointed, and Elliot gave Morgan a small shove. "Get to the car - I'll see you in a sec," she said. Morgan looked like she was about to protest but Eric shot her a dark look and the blonde gave a sigh before turning to make her way out, the guy quick on her heels.

"You're leaving?" Eric inquired, pulling Elliot slightly closer so she could hear him over the sounds of people leaving for the night.

"I have to. I can't...I can't stay here, and Morgan needs me anyway, and there's nothing I can do about Sookie and I just..." Elliot shook her head. "I just want to go home."

Eric gave a slow nod of understanding. "Very well." He didn't look too pleased but that wasn't Elliot's problem; her mind was reeling, her neck was stinging, her memories were aching - she just wanted out. She felt selfish for it - selfish that she was going to be leaving Sookie here, but she had Bill, at least. Morgan was relying on her, and if Elliot was honest even if she hadn't been she'd probably have left anyway; bedside sympathy really wasn't her thing, and she was feeling more than a little messed up right now. Elliot backed up step and pulled away from the grip Eric had on her elbow, moving over to the bar where she'd idiotically left her bag earlier - miraculously it was untouched, whether because it had been kicked underneath her stool or because it looked so ratty no idiot would ever take it, Elliot didn't know.

Eric had followed her and was watching her closely. "Are you alright?" he asked with a very slight frown.

"I'm fine."

"You aren't feeling faint or anything?"

Elliot's hand worked its way up to touch unconsciously against her neck and she frowned. "Why? Should I be? How much did you take?"

Eric's lips curved in a way that made Elliot want to kiss him again, his fangs sliding downwards to glint in the dim light. "Not enough." Then he was gone, shooting away too quickly for Elliot to really notice, caught as she was on his words, and she gave her head a slight shake before hurrying towards the doors to drag Morgan home.

**AN: I was worried about putting this up because I don't have chapter 19 written yet (though I do have two chapters which are either 20 and 21 or 21 and 22 written...don't ask me why, I don't make sense) and I was afraid of letting it catch up to me because it puts more pressure on – I like to try and update once a week so now I have a deadline to write by...let's hope I actually make it!**

**And we've finally collided with the series – in case you hadn't realised this chapter is huuugely based on Season 2, Episode 3 – Scratches. A lot of the dialogue comes from there and will do in a few chapters though after this one a lot of it will be changed to accommodate Elliot in the Dallas trip ;)**

**I wanted to use a lyric from Debbie Davies' Scratches for the title but none of them really fit so I used one from Placebo's Pure Morning instead. **

**Let me know what you thought! Thanks for reading, you guys are the reason I keep writing this :) **


	19. Bad Intentions

_I should have listened to my friends_

_when they told me you had bad intentions_

* * *

><p>Elliot slept late and fitfully, waking a number of times through the night and the morning until she rose unrested and irritable and as confused as ever about one Eric Northman. She hated herself for thinking about him so much but he was at the edge of her mind no matter what she tried to force herself to try and focus on. They had kissed. He had bitten her. They were facts she couldn't remove from her head, facts that were so very true they almost hurt.<p>

They had kissed. She had bite marks on her neck. She'd cleaned the blood away from them but Eric hadn't had a chance to heal them last night so the little punctures were still there, clear as day until she flipped her collar over them. It looked a little stupid but it was far too hot to wear a scarf and she wasn't exactly expecting company so it didn't really matter.

After coffee and a cigarette, Elliot placed a quick call to Morgan to be sure her friend had gotten home safe - it was answered by a man who introduced himself down the phone as Jerry as he paced across Morgan's house to find her. When the blonde got on the phone she was groggy and sleepy but she sounded okay and she assured Elliot that she and Jerry had gotten home safe. She was, thankfully, still too out of it to remember about Eric and Elliot hung up feeling relieved; it was a conversation she was definitely not ready to have.

She phoned Fangtasia next. A woman answered breathlessly and handed the phone over to Sookie when asked without question. The telepath sounded a little out of sorts but otherwise okay and Elliot figured she was in some sort of shock over what had happened - God knew she would have been. She felt bad that she wasn't there but even so couldn't bring herself to get in the car and drive over; even if Sookie was healed, Elliot wasn't quite over the image of her back being slashed open. With those two calls done, she had nothing else to do; Saturday and Sunday were days off for her and with both Morgan and Sookie out of action she was somewhat stuck.

Instead she hung around and practised with her power a little more, making various objects shoot towards her from the table. She accidentally smashed a cup after misjudging and trying to jerk it towards her too quickly but it was chipped anyway so Elliot brushed it off. After that incident, though, she figured it would be best to give it a rest for a bit and she tidied up the tiny house. It occurred to her that she should probably get a few things ready for the trip to Dallas but she didn't know how long she'd be there for, when she'd be going or any of the actually important details so left it.

As the afternoon wore on Elliot slowly came to the conclusion that she needed to meet more people. She knew only three people in this place, really, and if she was going to be staying here for a while she couldn't spend all her days alone and waiting for Sookie or Morgan to drag her somewhere. She _should_go down to the bar and go about meeting said people but, despite having realised she ought to, Elliot couldn't bring herself to. Not yet. She'd do that tomorrow. Or maybe the next day.

Instead she found herself in the living room, unplugging the television from the wall and stepping back to observe it through narrow eyes. It was fairly heavy and bigger by far than anything else she'd attempted to move, but what was life without a little challenge? Besides - how did she expect to get better without pushing herself? With that thought in mind, Elliot went through the process of blanking her mind of everything but the vague shape of the TV that she could sense.

It felt odd, having so many components as it did - Elliot had never realised truly how many before - but she thought she'd be able to lift it. She extended her will, wrapping it around the television and letting her breath out through her teeth, one hand rising unconsciously to guide its progress as she pulled upwards. She felt a slight give in her mind as the TV rose a few inches, all of its weight borne by her as Elliot sucked in a breath and tried to steady it, watching as it wobbled uncertainly in the air.

There were a tense few seconds where she thought she was going to lose control and drop it but the thing steadied and drifted a foot or so above the little table it had been perched on. Elliot could feel the weight of it dragging on her, tugging at her bones and trying to tease her into taking a step forward as though it was actively pulling on her but she restrained herself, closing her eyes.

She should probably let that be it for now; she'd lifted it, it had worked - that was a success and she really ought to leave it alone before she went too far. But Elliot wanted to prove something, anything to herself - she could do this, she wasn't useless, she was more than just a beat up girl from Ohio - and she refused to let it go. Instead she pulled again, her fingers bending inwards as though she was beckoning the television and it rose several more inches, dragging cables behind it as it slid through the air towards her.

Elliot's heart was pounding, her head beginning to ache, but the television felt as natural to move as her own hand; a thought and it twitched, though it took more energy than flicking her fingers would. She pulled it an inch or two from side to side and guided it upwards a little more, grinning to herself as it reached head height, her hand level with it, palm out and fingers splayed.

"Very good."

With a small gasp Elliot whirled around and the TV dropped through the air to smash against the ground with a surprisingly loud noise that made her flinch. Eric was leaning casually against the doorframe, looking amused at what he had just caused while Elliot took a few seconds to try and calm her heart and shaking hands.

"_Eric_," she growled. Elliot collapsed onto the couch and stared in dismay at the pieces of television littering the floor. "Haven't you ever heard of knocking? Look what you've done!"

"You invited me in," he reminded her, walking over to sit himself beside her, also observing the broken bits of glass and plastic, the trail of wires like intestines poking through various bits.

"That doesn't mean you can just walk in whenever you please!" Elliot protested hotly, rubbing her palms over her eyes. "Those things aren't cheap you know."

She could almost hear Eric roll his eyes. "I will replace it if it means that much to you," he told her boredly and Elliot scowled at the pieces.

"No."

He looked mildly taken aback by her firm response but shrugged it off. "It _was_impressive, though," he said after a moment, casting her a sidelong glance. "Before you smashed it, I mean."

"_Thanks_." Elliot's tone was dry but, truth be told, she was pretty damn pleased with herself and trying very hard not to show it. She cleared her throat and got to her feet. "So...what're you doing here? Do you want a drink or anything? Of TruBlood." The last two words were tacked quickly onto the end of the offer as Eric's fangs flashed into existence and he laughed, a low rumble that came from deep within his chest.

"If you're not on the menu I think I shall pass," he told her, eyes glinting as he stood and followed her into the kitchen. His fangs were still out when Elliot turned to look at him expectantly and she averted her eyes, instantly reminded of last night, of his hands on her, his lips on her, his body pressed so close-

"How's - how's Sookie?" she asked, turning to set the coffee on just for something to do. She shouldn't drink any this late but she'd started it now and she'd have to follow through or look like an idiot. Damn.

"Miss Stackhouse is...well recovered." The way he paused gave Elliot reason to turn and stare at him questioningly but Eric wasn't forthcoming.

"What happened?"

Eric's head tipped a little and he was looking at Elliot through his eyelashes - which were stupidly long, she couldn't help but notice - and he smirked. "Nothing unexpected." Elliot waited for a second but he didn't elaborate and she rolled her eyes.

"Thanks for clearing that up," she said sarcastically, grabbing a cup and dumping two sugars into it, ready for when the coffee was done. She was definitely not going to be able to sleep tonight. Eric was watching her preparations with a slight frown.

"This is coffee?" he asked, stepping closer to take a better look. Elliot's heart tripped as he came close enough to touch and she bit on her lip, closing her eyes for a second to recollect herself - _stupid, stupid_. His body was so close to hers if either of them moved two inches closer they'd be flush together against the table and it wasn't helping her concentrate in the slightest.

"Uh huh," she hummed, sidling away from him and hating the smirk that wound over his lips.

"Isn't this a drink used to wake humans up?"

"Yep."

"Then you shouldn't drink it so late." Eric shot a pointed look at the clock hanging over the sink and Elliot grabbed the jug to pour it into the cup.

She dunked a spoon in to give it a quick stir and, with a glare at Eric, she tipped the cup upwards to take a gulp. It scalded her tongue and mouth, burning all the way down her throat, but she wasn't going to let anyone but her decide what she drank or when she drank it so she ignored the flash of hot pain as best she could and set the cup down on the counter with a small bang. Some of the liquid sloshed over the edge and onto the counter and Elliot swiped it away with her palm before turning to Eric with arched eyebrows.

He was looking frustratingly amused. "You have a real problem with being told what to do, don't you?" he commented idly, leaning against the doorframe as he observed her.

"I don't think many appreciate it," Elliot returned coolly. Holy _shit_her mouth was burning. She needed water. Ice. Snow. Cold things - her mouth was begging for them but she was stupidly stubborn and remained where she was, folding her arms over her chest. It was so much easier to be angry at Eric than it was to examine the way he made her want to kiss him all over again so she went with that. "What are you doing here, anyway? Don't you have a charge to be looking after?"

"I told you - Miss Stackhouse is well recovered."

"That doesn't answer my question," Elliot pointed out.

"I answered one of them," Eric told her, lips quirking at the corners.

"Well then answer the other."

Eric moved so quickly Elliot didn't see him until he was inches from her and she backed up into the counter behind her, heart hammering and, for once, not from fear. He bent his head to stare very directly at her, the cheap kitchen light glinting on the whiteness of his fangs. He breathed out, the air tickling over Elliot's neck and she had to grip the counter as her knees tried to unhinge themselves for a second.

"Is it so hard to believe that I simply came to see you?" he asked, and Elliot was pleased to note that his voice was not nearly as smooth as it normally was.

"Yes."

There was silence and Eric's eyes darkened, his head bending closer to her. "Can I kiss you again?"

"You shouldn't," Elliot murmured, closing her eyes in defeat. Eric's lips pressed against hers with a softness Elliot couldn't have imagined and his hands moved to her hips. His fingers wound themselves into the belt-loops of her jeans and he pulled her closer to him, his kiss edging into something harder, something fierce.

She could feel his fangs graze along her lower lip and she didn't have time to think before he'd pierced through the skin there and his tongue moved to catch the droplets as they surfaced. Elliot's hands were on his back and she had a fistful of his jacket, pulling him to her as she raised herself onto her toes, allowing everything but him to fall away for a precious moment before reality hit and she pulled back.

Eric froze for a second before pulling himself upright with an obvious effort. He ran his tongue over his lip to remove any blood that lingered there and his gaze stuck questioningly on Elliot. She reached up to clean her mouth but Eric caught her wrist, moving instead to swipe his thumb over her cut lip and placing it against his mouth to taste her one last time.

"I can't," she said lowly, closing her eyes and letting out a shaky breath. "Eric I can't."

He moved away, enough to give her space but not enough to put a proper distance between them and his hands were still holding her in place. "Why not?" he asked softly, bending his head closer again so she could feel his words on her lips. "Why can't you?"

"I just can't." How could she ever explain without giving away the part of past she wanted to keep hidden forever? How was it that, for the first time in her life outside of Michael, guys were actually interested in her and she was too scared to let anything happen? _Why_was it that those guys came with fangs or fur or a doting nature that she knew she'd quickly grow bored of?

Eric's hand trailed up her back and his fingers wound into her hair. He gave a gentle tug so her head angled up towards him and the pressure of his fingers against her skull sent shockwaves right down Elliot's spine. "Well as soon as you can," he breathed against her lips, "let me know."

And then his presence was on the other side of the kitchen and he was peering interestedly into Elliot's cupboards with his back to her. She was silent for a long moment, edging her tongue along her lip and probing the small cuts there as Eric jostled things around.

"What are you doing?" she asked belatedly, tiredly. Eric was wreaking havoc on her emotions and she needed him to go away for about a week so she could try and figure them out without him striding in and messing it up all over again.

Eric turned around and shut the cupboard. He shrugged. "Just looking," he said with a devilishly casual grin. "I thought you might need a moment to recover."

Elliot rolled her eyes, determinedly ignoring the fact that she had, indeed, needed a moment to recover. She _hated_that he knew that. "So...what are you doing here?" she asked again, sliding a chair out from under the table and flopping onto it. She pushed the coffee away with one outstretched finger and Eric took the cup, tossing the contents down the sink.

"You'll drink it otherwise," he said by way of explanation. Elliot knew herself too well to argue with him. Eric slid himself into the opposite chair and hunched forwards a little, leaning towards Elliot. She stuck her elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm, watching him. "You leave for Dallas tomorrow afternoon."

Elliot sat up straight. "_What_? Christ - thanks for the warning."

"It's soon but this is serious; we need to resolve the situation as quickly as possible – before anything happens to Godric."

Godric. Eric hadn't told her the name before and Elliot stored it away. "Right...okay. I get that. I uh...I need to phone my boss and stuff. And like...pack. And how're we getting there? I-"

"Bill is making all the travel arrangements - you just need to get yourself ready to leave by five pm tomorrow afternoon. I will send a car to pick you up and take you to the airport - on a mortal plane I am told the flight lasts less than thirty minutes." Eric spoke as though he was reading lines from a script and he had his eyes on the table, not on Elliot's face. Her own eyes narrowed shrewdly.

"What aren't you telling me?" she demanded, instantly nervous.

Eric rose to his feet. "Five pm. Don't miss it."

"_Eric_." Elliot got to her feet as well, glaring at him. "Tell me what's going on."

"Nothing, Elliot," he told her, his tone very final. "Do not forget our agreement. You are flying to Dallas on business for me. I will tell you what I want to tell you, and I do not expect you to question me."

Elliot's mouth fell open. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"I am not."

He took a step back from the table and Elliot stared at him. "_What_is your problem? Are you mad because I didn't want to k-"

"No, Elliot. I am not mad, I'm _tired_ of you being so petulant. Do not forget who I am, and do not forget that you are merely a human I am employing." He was gone then, out the back door before Elliot could say or do anything. What the _fuck_was his problem? He had more mood swings than a pregnant woman for Christ's sake.

But even though he'd pissed her off with his abrupt departure and his less than kind words Elliot's anger at him evaporated fairly quickly as she wrote his mood off to whoever the hell Godric was. All she knew was that if Eric was in that much of a knot over him he was no ordinary vampire and that alone was enough to make her more than a little nervous about the trip to Dallas.

There was no time to worry about it tonight; she was tired, she needed to pack tomorrow and she was going to have to somehow explain to her boss that she needed an unknown number of days off despite having only been working with the road crew for a short while. And once that was done there was the whole vampire rescue mission thing. But all of that could wait; Elliot pushed it to the back of her mind as she headed upstairs and crawled into bed, inexplicably exhausted. Sleep washed over her almost at once.

**AN: So sorry this took so long – turns out I don't write well to a deadline so it took me a while to get this one sorted and I wanted to get chapter 20 written before I posted this one. But anyhow – now it's up and True Blood tonight! It's getting pretty intense, huh? The Authority are freaking **_**awesome**_** (though that kid pisses me off a lot) – there's just so much about this season that I love love love already – my tumblr is exploding with glorious True Blood and I have no regrets :') **

**Anyway – let me know what you thought! It's really easy to review now so if you're feeling like a kind soul just type away into that little box and I will be happy for like...ever. Plus you get cookies! :) **

**Title is from Listen To Your Friends by New Found Glory. **

**Also! This story recently reached 20,000 hits so I wanted to say an absolutely massive thank you to all of you who've stuck with it so far – you're all fantabulous. **


	20. Calm Before The Storm

Waking the next morning, Elliot found herself oddly excited. The trip was probably going to be dangerous and risky and if Eric kept up his awful mood maybe it wouldn't be all that fun but she was still looking forward to it; she hadn't been on a trip in ages. Not a real trip, at any rate. She'd been running, but she'd never had the chance to look around her as she went for fear she'd find Michael on her heels. So going to Dallas was exciting, and Elliot was more than okay with feeling excited about something.

She rolled out of bed with a lot less than her usual reluctance to leave the cosy nest of her blankets and headed for the shower. Elliot took a lot of time over her morning routine, relishing every moment as she relaxed under the hot spray and allowed herself to imagine a trip with no business at its core; just a friendly trip to Dallas. With Eric. Maybe. Eric in a _good_ mood because his flickering back and forth was hard to keep up with.

Elliot had no idea what to pack so simply shoved a few things into a suitcase with a bag of toiletries and hoped it would be okay. Then she phoned her boss (who was surprised to hear from her on a Sunday) and made up a story about an uncle dying. She felt a little guilty but when he excused her for the week she decided it was worth it - he wasn't overly vampire friendly and Elliot didn't have to have known him very long to know that he'd not be happy about the truth. It took a while to clear up all the crap from the TV but it was done, eventually, though the room looked oddly bereft without it.

Then she had nothing left to do and she realised she couldn't put it off any longer; she was going to have to socialise. Elliot took several moments to stand in front of the mirror before leaving the house, her expression determined as she stared into her own eyes. "You can do this." She'd never been good at being around people, but she'd managed with Morgan, Sookie, Eric and Alcide. Now it was time to expand her borders a little and try being friendly with more normal people. Which she could do. She could _totally_ do that. If only she could believe herself when she thought it.

Elliot didn't give herself much chance to back out because as soon as she made up her mind she darted out the door before she could stop herself, tracking down the path to Merlotte's. Sookie's car could be seen beyond the far edge of the building in the employee lot and Elliot cheered up a little upon realising that there would at least be _someone_ she knew there, surprised as she was that Sookie was back to work so quickly after her...eventful evening.

The ordinary bar sounds washed over her as she pushed the door open and glanced around, pulling a smile onto her lips and nodding as a few people lifted hands in greeting. Elliot crossed the room to sit on a stool at the bar and congratulated herself upon getting there without mishap. So far, so good. She recognised Sam behind the bar and he offered her a lop-sided grin.

"Alright Elliot?" he asked, leaning on the counter. He seemed more relaxed than he had been last time she'd met him and Elliot supposed he was comforted by the fact that she'd not blown up her house or anything yet.

"Um - yeah. Good thanks," she returned awkwardly. "You?"

He nodded. "It's going pretty good," he told her. "You want a drink?"

"Iced tea, please." Sam nodded again and turned to find the pitcher and a glass while Elliot twisted a little on the stool to observe the people gathered inside the bar. There were a few faces vaguely familiar from the gas station and the grocery store but most were strangers who cast her a curious glance every now and then; the curse of being the new girl.

"Here you go." Sam had returned with a glass which he set in front of her and Elliot slid a few notes over the counter with a smile of thanks, reaching to take a sip. She should probably go sit with someone and introduce herself but she was nervous enough just sitting here on her own so she decided to take it slow for the moment. "So Sookie tells me you're going on this trip with her?" Sam mentioned casually, leaning one elbow on the bar and observing Elliot with cool blue eyes. A nice blue but a different blue to Eric's. Eric's were deeper, slightly darker at the edges and - _stop_. Elliot blinked to try and clear the vampire from her head and nodded.

"That's right."

He was silent for a moment, his teeth worrying at his lip for a fraction of a second before he leaned a little closer. "Look, I ain't trying to tell you what to do or what not to do," he began and Elliot's eyes narrowed a little. "But Sookie trusts the fangers. More than she should, you know?"

Elliot was silent.

"I just mean," he continued, watching her warily, "that maybe she should be more careful. And you look like a careful sort of girl." Which was fair enough, she supposed, though she still said nothing. "Just...I don't want her getting hurt. Nor you - I don't want anyone getting hurt. And people seem to get hurt a lot around vampires."

"I'll watch out for her," Elliot told him, more to shut him up than anything else because he was looking more than a little awkward and it was making her cringe inside.

Sam straightened, looking relieved. "Thanks." He nodded at her and then turned to attend to someone who'd waved at him from a nearby table. Elliot took another sip from her glass and let her eyes stray towards the photos tacked up behind the bar, wondering how many of the people in them still worked here, what their names were, what they were like.

"Ellie?"

Elliot stiffened at once, her fingers clenching around her glass as she shied away from the voice, closing her eyes for a moment before she managed to wrench her head back into the present. She sucked in a deep breath. "Don't call me that," she said, more harshly than she'd intended.

The guy who'd spoken took a step back, looking apologetic and slightly nervous. "Sorry," he told her quickly and Elliot felt instantly like an idiot.

"No, don't be," she told him, lifting her glass to her lips to save herself from having to say anything else.

The guy nodded slowly, looking like he wished he hadn't walked up to her. "I uh...sorry to bother you," he told her. "But someone told me you got that old house off Bluemont Road? And I - well I know it needed a bit of work done, so here." He held out a business card with a company name, logo and telephone number. "I just thought it might be helpful."

Elliot took the card and tucked it in her pocket. "Thank you," she said sincerely, feeling more foolish than ever.

"No problem." The guy moved back a step to go back to his table before he paused. "Uh...sorry to ask but - what is your name, then, if it's not...if it's something else?"

"Elliot," she said. "I'm Elliot."

He nodded again and took another step back. "Elliot, right. Well - I mean it. Give us a call; we've got the best rates around here." And then he was gone and Elliot relaxed slightly, raking a hand through her hair. She needed to get a grip or people were going to think she was completely off her rocker.

Sookie came out from the room behind the bar at that moment and smiled at Elliot as she noticed her. The blonde obviously didn't have time to chat; she was hailed the second she was spotted and was off in a whirl of white t shirt and black apron to refill pitchers and take lunch orders. For a while Elliot simply sat, saying hi to anyone who greeted her and sipping slowly at her drink, watching the goings on of the bar as it worked around her.

She was just starting to get comfortable when the glass smashed. The noise of it had her leaping instinctively from her seat, shrinking away from it and feeling like an idiot for a second, glad that everyone had turned towards the commotion so nobody noticed her. She'd have been fine if the guy whose glass had been smashed hadn't yelled at whoever was responsible.

Elliot's breath left her in a quick gasp and she backed towards the door, almost tripping in her haste, her drink forgotten on the counter. She was out of the bar like a whirlwind, stumbling into the lot and skidding on the loose gravel, reaching out to steady herself on the wall. Her eyes closed and Elliot took a long moment to just breathe and remember that she was safe even as the memories of bruises ached under her clothes.

The yelling from inside continued, muffled, for a few moments before dying down again and Elliot pressed her back against the wall. Her heart was thumping deeply, her legs were like Jell-O and her head was ringing with the leftover fear but it faded slowly as she stood under the sun.

The gravel crunched as a truck pulled up and Elliot's eyes widened a little as she recognised the driver. The doors opened and three men piled out, Alcide hitting the ground with a grace his size should not have allowed for. He rolled his shoulders back and pushed his hair from his face; he had a pressure line where he had obviously been wearing a helmet and there was a tool belt slung around his hips.

There was no way Elliot could disappear behind the building in time; he noticed her the second he turned around, surprise colouring his features before his lips had curled into a smile. "You go ahead and order - I'll catch up," he told the two men with him and they shot knowing looks towards Elliot before slinking through the door to Merlotte's. Alcide headed towards Elliot and stopped a short distance from her, his expression questioning.

"Afternoon," she greeted casually, and he relaxed a little, moving a step closer and sticking his hands in the pockets of his blue jeans.

"You alright?"

Elliot nodded in response. "You?" This was a million times more awkward than her conversation with Sam; she could practically feel it in the air and unspoken words between them.

"I'm fine. We were just called out a few miles away - someone's stairs collapsed," he told her.

"Oh. Well...that sucks," Elliot replied.

Alcide shrugged. "Double pay on Sundays."

"I meant about the stairs," she amended and Alcide's smile widened.

"I know." There was silence for a second and Alcide moved to lean beside her, staring out over the lot. "I didn't expect to see you here. I thought about stopping by, you know? Just to see how things are. I want to talk to you - about what happened. I feel bad, Elliot. Really bad."

"Well you should."

"I do," he told her seriously. "I messed up. Big time."

"Yes, you did," Elliot said calmly, staring straight ahead though she could feel his gaze on her. The awkwardness and the surprise of seeing him had, at least, pushed the memories of Michael the glass had conjured far to the back of her head where they would no doubt be uprooted again in her nightmares that evening.

"And I'm sorry. How many times do you want me to say? I'll say it over and over if that's what you want."

"But _why_?" And finally she turned to look at him, pushing off from the wall and shifting so she was standing in front of him, for once the one blocking the way as opposed to the one trapped. "Why do you even _care_? We hardly know each other."

"What, I have to know a woman for years before I can care about her getting hurt?" Alcide's reply cut through the air and she could tell she'd managed to offend him somehow. Uugh, _men_.

"No, but-"

"Well then. What's the problem?"

"The _problem_ is that I don't understand, okay?" Elliot said to him, spreading her hands outwards before letting them clap down to her sides.

"What don't you understand?" Alcide asked her quietly, leaning a little closer. "Tell me. I'll explain, I'll apologise, I'll get lost if that's what you really want."

Elliot paused. "You would?"

Alcide hesitated and then pushed his back up against the wall again. He gave a sharp nod. "I would," he told her reluctantly, but it was clear he was being honest. The fact of it touched Elliot more than she could say - and she never _would_ say - but that he would go just because she wanted him to, that he would disappear from her life because that was what she asked for...it meant a lot. One hell of a lot. She felt almost stupid for it but Michael had given chase; no matter how much she wanted him gone he clung to her and dragged her down, made her run and run so she couldn't just _stop_ to breathe. And here was Alcide, telling her he'd get lost if that was what she wanted. And, just because of that, she forgave him.

"I don't want you to get lost," she said slowly, looking up to meet his dark gaze. Alcide relaxed visibly and he smiled.

"Good," he said. "Because I don't want to."

"But," Elliot added, holding up a hand, "I'm not having sex with you. That was...stupid of us." And she was far too confused about one blond vampire to be getting mixed up with a werewolf as well, particularly when that vampire shouldn't even be in the equation at all.

Alcide laughed a deep laugh and rubbed his hand at the back of his neck. "Agreed."

Elliot smiled at him and a silence fell that was less awkward than before. She stepped back and gestured to the door of Merlotte's. "You're friends are probably waiting for you," she said, clearing her throat.

He grinned. "They probably think I've run off with you in my truck," he told her before straightening up. "But they'll spend all my money on lunch if I'm not careful." He turned to look back at her. "We're alright?"

Elliot nodded. "We're fine."

"And it's okay if I stop by sometimes?"

"Yes, but I'm going away for a little while."

Alcide's eyes widened a little, his eyebrows arching. "Oh? Where to?"

"Dallas," Elliot told him unthinkingly.

"_Dallas_? What - why?" But he figured it out for himself, piecing it together with a very unimpressed expression. "Eric."

"Yes," Elliot admitted, wishing she'd thought for a second and said she was visiting her mother or something. Her mother was dead as it happened - recently enough for the thought to give her stomach cause to lurch sideways - but Alcide didn't know that. "Not for very long. It'll be fine."

Alcide didn't look convinced. "Why's he taking you? Is this to do with that missing vamp?"

"Because of my...thing," Elliot told him pointedly. "I'm sort of working for him, I think. He's paying me." She paused for a second and then narrowed her eyes at him. "How do you know about the missing vampire?"

"People talk," he said simply.

"You know anything about him?" Elliot pressed, desperate for information she knew Eric wasn't going to give her.

Alcide shook his head. "Not much. He's old. One of the Sheriffs." He shrugged his shoulders, looking apologetic and worried at the same time.

"Well...we're looking for him."

"I don't like this," he told her.

Elliot shrugged as well. "You don't have to," she pointed out. "I'm going. Your friends..." She waved towards the door again and Alcide glanced towards it before looking back at her.

"Be careful, alright? And if anything happens - _anything_ - call me, I'll come get you. I don't care what time it is."

Elliot was taken aback by his seriousness but appreciated the offer. She nodded. "Hopefully I won't need to...but thanks." Alcide looked like he was going to say something else for a second before he nodded, shot her a brief smile, and walked through the door to the bar. Elliot looked after him for a long moment before giving herself a slight shake. Alcide's worry over the trip had reignited her own nerves about it but she tried to push it aside; she was going and it was final. All the arrangements had been made and in any case she couldn't, in all good conscience, allow anybody to kidnapped, likely to be killed very soon, without at least trying to help.

Even so, as she headed back home she thumbed through the contacts in her cell and made sure Alcide's was at the top. Just in case.

**AN: First of all – I swear Dallas is coming, but that's the next chapter. This needed to happen first :P**

**The title is from Fall Out Boy's song Calm Before The Storm. It doesn't make much sense but it's late and I just wanted to put this chapter up so please forgive me. The next one should be on time (i.e. next weekend) because it's written, as are the next three or so chapters but I need to weave them together, as such.**

**Thanks, as always, for reading, please review and hold on for the next chapter because that's when everything will start happening! Also – True Blood tonight (technically) so that's awesome! Personally am loving the new season so I hope you guys are too :)**


	21. Cashing In My Bad Luck

After being delayed at the airport for two long hours, Elliot, Sookie and two coffins were on their way to Dallas. She'd been a little surprised (and definitely _not_ disappointed in the _slightest_) to discover that Eric wasn't coming with them but Sookie told her he was going to meet them there. Apparently he could _fly_. That information had kept Elliot quiet for the entire flight as she thought it over, tried to wrap her mind around the fact. It was hard to realise - truly realise - that Eric was not human. He'd bitten her, drank her blood and yet somehow this hit home the hardest - he had what was, frankly, a superpower. It was _weird_.

But being silent and thoughtful was probably a good thing because Sookie had discovered the teeny bottles of alcohol before Elliot had had the chance to dispose of them - _ten_of them. The blonde was giggly and cheerful and, while Elliot didn't have a problem with Sookie enjoying herself, it doubled her worry for the waitress - she was on the flight because she was supposed to protect Sookie when Bill and Eric could not. Protecting a drunk telepath was a lot harder than protecting a sober telepath, which was probably a lot more difficult that Elliot was hoping it would be.

Nothing went amiss during the flight, at any rate, unless one counted the minor spill that had occurred on Elliot's jeans and she didn't. It was only Coke, anyway. Her ears were a little painful upon landing but she was otherwise fine, grabbing Sookie's wrist as they exited the plane, worried that the blonde would fall and kill herself before they even got to the hotel. Bill was being taken care of by some guys, as well as another coffin that apparently contained Jessica. Elliot had no idea who Jessica was and she didn't care too much about finding out; she wasn't on the trip to make friends.

There was another guy standing beside a limo and clutching a card that read 'Compton Party'. Christ knew why; they were the only ones in the bunker so Elliot was pretty sure they were the only ones he could be waiting for. He looked nervous and Elliot shot him a sympathetic smile as his eyes darted towards the coffins being unloaded, guessing that he'd not dealt often with vampires before.

"You were meant to be here before sundown," he said, staring between Sookie and Elliot and shifting his weight from foot to foot. He was sweating, his eyes wide and beady. Sookie shrugged casually.

"Our plane got delayed," she explained, apparently not noticing his discomfort. Elliot wasn't overly surprised by that; there had been a lot of those little bottles on the plane - all of which were now empty and Elliot hadn't touched a single one.

"Why don't you ladies get in the limo? I've got the AC cranked up," he muttered, peering behind Sookie with wide eyes to watch the vampires being removed from the plane.

"Cheers," Elliot said, infecting her voice with brightness in the hope that he'd be a little more comfortable. She went to clamber into the car but Sookie's fingers closed around her wrist, her eyes wide. Elliot yanked herself back automatically, the action instinct more than anything else, but Sookie didn't seem to notice; she was staring at the man with her lips parted and then sucked in a breath as the guy reached to grab at her.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF M-" Sookie's yell was cut off and she was suddenly released. Elliot had thrown her hand out, energy crackling across the air to surge against the man, yanking him backwards so he smacked the limo with enough force to knock the air from his lungs. Elliot yanked the blonde back just as Bill burst out of his coffin and was suddenly _there_without having visibly moved. Elliot's one hand was fixed on Sookie's arm, the other falling to her side when she realised that with Bill there the guy was no longer a threat. She was breathing heavily and Sookie was staring at her.

"Thanks," she said quietly, looking pale and like she'd sobered up too quickly. Elliot shrugged, pulling her expression into one of casual indifference despite the adrenaline that was stinging her blood.

"It's what I'm here for," she said simply, letting go of the waitress and stepping away, running her hand through her hair. No wonder the guy had looked nervous; this was an ambush. Eric's sudden mood swing last night after he'd told her today's arrangements made a lot more sense now. "Eric knew," Elliot said, quietly furious, quietly certain. "He _knew_ - that _fucking _bastard."

Bill had hold of the guy's collar and he was seething at him, his words barely more than a hiss of threat. Elliot turned away, and jumped as something banged, lifting her hands instinctively, expecting somebody else to try grabbing Sookie but all Elliot saw was the other coffin jump slightly. She frowned.

"Jessica," Sookie explained as the lid flew off and clattered to the ground. Elliot winced at the noise, peering around to see if anybody was going to come running at them but everything was quiet. Bill had taken the man into the limo where Elliot assumed he was being questioned and Jessica appeared beside them, staring at Elliot.

"You smell _great_," she said enthusiastically, standing a little too close. Elliot's eyebrows arched as she took her in; she couldn't have been older than twenty or so, with pale skin, red hair and bright eyes. Pity curled in Elliot's stomach at the thought that someone so young had been dragged into such a life as that of a vampire before she cut the thoughts off. "I'm Jessica."

"Elliot," the brunette returned with a tiny smile. The vampire seemed utterly unperturbed by the entire affair and it was good to have _someone_being cheerful; it lightened the mood a little.

Sookie clambered into the limo and Jessica followed, leaving Elliot alone in the eerily quiet bunker. She didn't want to be in a car with two vampires, a kidnapper and Sookie so she wandered off a short way, pulling out a cigarette. Eric knew this was going to happen - she was sure of it. He'd been so fine last night up until the point where he told her about this evening - he'd switched, becoming the angry, distant Eric from when she'd first met him. He'd _known_and he hadn't bothered to warn any of them. And there she was thinking he might actually be alright.

Elliot scowled, striking a match as though it had personally offended her and lighting the cigarette with it. She wasn't sure what the policy was for leaving matches around in a place where planes came and went - she wasn't even sure if she was allowed to smoke in here - so she shook it out and stuck the burnt out stick into her pocket.

What would he have done if they'd all been taken? If Elliot's power hadn't risen up, if Bill had gotten stuck in his coffin as Jessica had? Nothing? Anything? Would he even have _cared_?

No.

No he would not have cared and that was how Elliot knew she'd been a bigger idiot than even she had realised - because she had thought, briefly, that he might. That Eric Northman might actually feel bad if he lost two vampires and two not-quite-humans. The idea was laughable; he'd just find others to replace them and the world would keep on spinning. He certainly wouldn't think twice about it if she'd been killed; she was a tool, a means to an end. To think that she might actually be anything beyond that was just idiocy. In fact if she'd been killed he'd have saved some money.

Elliot kicked at the ground, mad at herself more than Eric now. Eric was just being Eric; that was all she should ever expect from him. She, on the other hand, had been so damn _stupid_. Why hadn't she gotten the hell out of Bon Temps the minute he lightened up on the guards?

_Because you like him_. The voice was unwelcome and unbidden and Elliot clamped down on it at once. "I do _not_," she muttered, furious.

"Elliot?" It was Sookie, standing by the car. Elliot realised with a start that she'd been pacing and had ended up quite a way from the others. "We're heading to the hotel."

"Cool." Elliot tossed the cigarette onto the concrete floor, deciding in a sudden bout of recklessness that she didn't give two shits about their rules, and headed towards the 'Compton Party'. She slid into the car and slammed the door behind her, staring about the interior as the engine thrummed to life beneath her. Her nerves twitched for a second at the energy shift and Elliot's fingers flexed at her sides before she let out a breath and closed her eyes. "Nobody talk to me," she murmured. "I get motion sick when I don't drive."

* * *

><p>Hotel Carmilla was every bit as grandiose as its leaflets promised, Elliot found out as she stepped inside. People in hotel uniform had hopped up to the limo at their arrival, collecting their bags and carrying them in ahead of them, leaving Elliot to stare around at the entrance hall of the place. It must have cost a bomb to stay there - not only because it was so luxurious a hotel but because of the vampire safety it promised; apparently there were few hotels vampires could trust with their lives during the day and this was one of those at the top of the short list. People were hurrying about left, right and centre and Elliot felt lost at once, pushing herself to lean against a wall and snatching a pamphlet from a holder on the wall so she had something to do.<p>

Bill and Sookie made a beeline for the desk to check in and Jessica was left in charge of the guy who'd been sent to collect them - Leon, his name was. Elliot couldn't believe that'd brought him with them but Bill needed to extract more information, apparently, which she could understand even if she didn't like it.

One leaflet finished, Elliot grabbed another and flipped it open, frowning across at Sookie and Bill's backs, wondering what was taking so long. Surely it was a simple matter of; 'hi, name of Northman, give us the keys please' kind of thing? Dark eyes blinked down at the leaflet and Elliot dropped it at once as though burned, biting down on her lip. It was a _menu_but not the normal sort; it listed people by age, gender, blood type, sexual orientation, race, hair colour - the whole lot. Feeling mildly sick, Elliot stepped on it with one boot and skirted it away from her, jumping as a shout rang out, looking towards Jessica as Bill hissed her name, his tone scolding.

She was giggling and Elliot headed towards her, dropping into the chair beside her and staring at Leon. This man had been sent to abduct Sookie from the airport - Eric had known about it and he'd not done a thing to stop it. At least, Elliot was pretty sure he'd known about it. There was a small part of her that hoped his mood swing had been nothing - random, not linked to the kidnapper at the airport at all but she wasn't as stupid as that when it came down to it. He'd used them as bait and it was just damn well lucky that Elliot and Bill had been able to react.

What it did mean, however, was that whoever had Godric obviously meant business. That wasn't good, and Elliot's stomach flipped at the fact of it. Bill had said in the car on the way over he was sure the attempted abduction was the work of humans; according to him vampires wouldn't have been so careless or left so much to chance. Eric had already said he thought it was mortals who'd taken him, but it begged the question of who, and why. And who the hell was Godric? Bill hadn't been all that informative on that front, telling Elliot only what she already knew; he was a Sheriff from the Dallas area and beyond that - nothing. He'd guessed that Godric was old and powerful, as Elliot had, but they'd agreed that that was obvious. Neither had a clue as to why Eric was so bothered by a vampire missing from an area that was not his own, and they'd all decided that the why didn't matter now that they were here.

Sookie's hand brushed lightly over Elliot's shoulder and she turned, standing abruptly. "We're done," Sookie told her with a slight smile. "You're room 12 - it's not too far from ours."

Elliot gave a nod and followed the blonde over to the elevator while Bill took hold of Leon's jacket and directed Jessica to follow behind Elliot and Sookie. The waitress jabbed the right button on the lift and they waited in uncomfortable silence as they ascended, stepping out once it had arrived.

Bill turned to Elliot and handed her a key card. "Your room will be just around that corner," he told her, pointing. "I'm going to take care of Leon. We're in V18 if you need us." It was a dismissal, Elliot understood that much, and she nodded.

"Alright - cheers." He could protect Sookie far better than she could, anyway, and Elliot headed for room 12, now unsure as to how to kill the evening. Sookie would be...busy with Bill, she suspected, and Jessica had nabbed Leon's cell phone so she assumed the vampire had someone she wanted to talk to. Which left...no one.

She pushed open the door to her room and closed her eyes for a second; she really didn't want to know how much this cost. She was angry at Eric, sure, but she hated the fact that money had been spent on her for no real reason. The room was large, with a massive double bed, a big window with heavy drapes, carpet that was thicker than grass, a huge flat screen television. There was a door off to the side that she assumed led to the bathroom and her small suitcase was set neatly on the bed.

"Jesus Christ," Elliot muttered, wandering through the room and sitting on the bed for a second's contemplation. The covers were an odd bronze-y colour with cream, feathered and promising warmth and comfort, the walls wooden panelled and old-fashioned. The room was an odd clash of old and modern; it was gorgeous and Elliot felt out of place in her jeans and boots.

She slipped out of the room and swiped the card to lock it, tucking it away and heading for the elevator; there was a bar downstairs with mini couches and tables and seats tucked away in the corners. She could go and sit in there and think without having to worry about being disturbed.

Elliot ordered a Coke from the bar, paying with her own money as opposed to adding to Eric's tab, feeling guilty over the fact that he had a tab in the first place, and moved away to find somewhere secluded to sit down. She attracted several stares as she walked across the bar area but Elliot ignored them all, sitting down at a table in the corner and setting her glass down with a sigh.

This trip was crazy already and she still had no idea where Godric was. Elliot was hoping that Bill would get a little more information out of Leon - who had taken him, at least, or where he was being held. She didn't know if they had a plan, didn't even know who was in charge of making the plan; Eric or the Dallas vampires? Was she going to meet them? What were they like? Bill seemed okay, and Eric was...Eric. They were both complete opposites in so many ways Elliot had no idea what an average vampire was like, though she supposed there were a few similarities; suspicious, easily angered, stronger than anyone had a right to be. Then there was Jessica who was so new she still very human in a number of ways from what Elliot could see.

She lifted her glass and took a sip, biting her lip as she set it down. What was she even doing here? This wasn't the place for her; surrounded by vampires; armed with only a power she could barely control; alone. Or...not so alone - a familiar figure had just appeared in her line of sight, making a beeline for her. Elliot sat up straight and arched her eyebrows as Eric drew closer, looking distinctly calm and unruffled. He stopped at the edge of her table, looking down at her with an unreadable expression. Elliot regarded him in silence.

"I had a call from Bill," he said eventually, sliding into the seat opposite her. "He explained what happened at the airport."

"Oh he did?" Elliot replied with mock surprise. "Told you all about the guy who tried to abduct Sookie, did he?"

Eric frowned slightly but he nodded. "Yes."

"Came as quite a shock to you, did it?" she continued, her anger quite clear in her voice and in the air that had shifted to become thicker, pressing against the vampire as if it was a solid thing.

"Something of a shock, yes," Eric told her carefully, watching her as one watches a firework that may or may not explode at any second.

"Don't fuck with me, Eric," Elliot hissed, leaning over the table. "I know you knew - Sookie could've been _killed_ and you didn't bother _telling_me?"

Eric's eyebrows arched fractionally before his expression became blank. "I suspected. I didn't know. Now I do."

"Yes, now you do." Elliot paused for a long moment and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and calming herself. The pressure on Eric eased and he relaxed a little, his shoulders dropping slightly as he concluded that Elliot wasn't about to explode.

"What difference would warning you have made?" Eric asked, breaking the silence that had fallen. "I didn't want to send you in there - trust me I didn't. But what would you have done if you'd known? Would you still have gone?"

"Yes," Elliot said at once. "Of course I'd have gone - I'm _not_ okay with people abducting anyone, including vampires. I don't want Godric to die. I'd have gone, but we'd have been _prepared_."

"But you _were_prepared," Eric returned, leaning forwards himself. "Everything turned out fine, did it not?"

Elliot scowled. "By _chance_, Eric. It could have all gone wrong so easily - Sookie and me'd be fuck knows where. Dead, probably. Godric would still be locked up and you'd be one telepath short of finding him and _then_what would you have done, huh?"

Eric closed his eyes for a second, his expression tightening. "The loss of the telepath would not have been the tragedy had that been the case," he said lowly, opening his eyes and staring hard at Elliot. "I trusted you. I trusted you to protect Sookie and you did. There is no point in examining alternatives."

"Not to _you_maybe but there is to me," Elliot retorted. "I don't like the fact that you just sent us into an ambush."

"I don't either," Eric snapped. "But sometimes you have to take risks - I don't expect you to understand. Because of this...situation we now know who has Godric. We are also aware that they know we have employed a human to find him - thankfully they seem unaware of you. We have a traitor in our midst."

Elliot's stomach dropped out at the revelation, her mouth going dry. "Who?"

Eric shook his head. "I am unsure." He was silent for a second, thinking. "But the fact that they did not know about you discounts some."

"So what do we do?"

"We go to Godric's nest tomorrow night. From there we make a plan to save him - now we know who has him I'm fairly sure I know where he is being held."

"Where?" Elliot asked. "Who has him?"

Eric sighed. "The Fellowship of the Sun," he told her, watching for her reaction.

Elliot's expression creased into a frown. "The Fellowship? I thought they just...y'know - were just anti-vampire." Their poster boy had never advocated killing vampires in any of his many speeches on television, anyway - he'd just warned against them and implored people to stay away for a whole host of reasons.

"_Just_anti-vampire is not how I would have put it," Eric said dryly. "They have made a bold move in taking one of ours. I am sure they plan to execute him - to do so would be to declare war, and the vampires here would be more than happy to oblige."

"Is that why you're so desperate to stop it, then?" Elliot asked curiously.

Eric was silent for a moment. "Partly."

"But mostly?" she prompted, and Eric's expression shut down, becoming little more than a blank mask.

"You should go," he said abruptly, a dismissal. "There are vampires in here who are looking at you in a way I do not like at all. You smell is too tempting for your own good."

Elliot frowned. "Really?" She looked around and Eric stood up, sliding away from the table and offering her a hand.

"Really. Please leave."

Neglecting to take his hand, Elliot stood up and frowned at him. "Just so you know, I'm not leaving because you asked me to," she told him and Eric's lips curled, amused.

"I'd never think that you were."

Elliot shot him a slight grin and realised abruptly that she'd somehow forgiven him without realising she was doing so. Shaking her head at herself, she wandered away, acutely aware of Eric's eyes on her back and trying to ignore the gazes that turned towards her as she walked by. She'd kind of thought before that Eric was just being weird when he said her blood smelled nice but there was no mistaking that the vampires looked _hungry_ more than anything else when they looked at her, and they _did _look at her, some of them turning right around in their seats as she went by.

She shivered, stalking quickly away from them and heading for the smoking area behind the hotel where she was fairly certain she'd not find any vampires, turning down a corridor and frowning as she looked for the sign she was sure she'd seen earlier. Was it...left? And then right? Elliot doubled back, gazing around. It was _somewhere_, she knew that much.

She didn't even hear the man until he grabbed her, and by then it was far too late.

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><p><strong>AN: So – let me know what you thought! I'm so sorry the last chapter was so...rubbish, so I posted this one to (hopefully) make up for it! Finally, they are in Dallas! I have the next three chapters written so updates should be regular for the time being, which is always nice to know (for me, not sure how you guys are on that front) but anyway. I am rambling.<strong>

**Please let me know what you thought - this chapter was slightly longer than the others so I hope that didn't put you off...**

**The title comes from Some Nights by Fun. Thanks, as ever, for reading! :)**


	22. Scream Until Your Heart Stops

A rough hand grabbed her and Elliot's body was jerked sideways to crash into something hard - another body. She let out a small gasp of surprise, twisting to try and look at whoever had hold of her while trying to pull away but he held firm, one hand snaked around her waist and pinning her arms to her sides while the other yanked her jacket down to expose the marks on her neck.

"I knew it!" he hissed delightedly. "Nobody smells that good and hasn't been tasted. Who do you belong to, girl?" He shook her roughly and Elliot's teeth banged together hard enough to make her wince.

"What?" she forced out, still struggling to pull away from him. He smelled of the bar and his breath was tinged with the metallic tang of blood. "What do you mean? Let me _go_!" She yanked herself forwards in an effort to tear his grip from her but it was useless and _she _was useless as her power died inside her, shrivelling from the memories of Michael's hands on her, his drunken words hissed against her ears.

The vampire laughed. "I said _who do you belong to_?" he repeated, giving her another shake. She was starting to get dizzy.

"No-one," Elliot snapped, furious and helpless, trying to kick at his legs. "I'm not a fucking-"

But she didn't finish her sentence because he'd released a breath of surprise at his good fortune before he bodily lifted her and started down the hall. "NO!" Elliot yelled, kicking with everything she had, trying to smash her heels into his shins and get her arms free. She was wriggling like a cat but he held fast, still laughing a light, cruel laugh that made her stomach clench with icy fear. "Let me _go_! You can't _do_this!" She sucked in a breath, scrambling for any ounce of energy she could summon but nothing came to bend to her will and he cut her off before she had a real chance of harnessing anything.

"Shut up, human," he snapped, shaking her more roughly this time. Her kicking stopped as Elliot tried hard to tighten her muscles and reduce the effect the shaking was having but it wasn't very useful; he was stronger than she could ever hope to be and she was like a doll in his grasp, her legs moving wildly with his actions, her head rolling from side to side. Elliot's teeth were gritted hard as a warning about biting her tongue off whispered against her thoughts so she couldn't scream. Her heart was hammering and she couldn't tell if it was being rattled about between her ribs from fear or because it had just come loose.

As soon as she was still again she unstuck her jaw. "HELP-" she tried, but he clamped his free hand over her mouth with a vicious snarl.

"Shut the _fuck_up." Elliot kicked out again as he dragged her backwards, jerking against his grip, praying to whatever the hell was up there to not let her die, to make him spontaneously burst into flames, to strike him down somehow so he would just let her go because she could do nothing as Michael plagued her memories and her curse refused to breathe. Her boots made contact with his legs but he was unmoved by the assault and Elliot instead tried biting down on his palm.

With a sharp cry of surprise more than anything else, the vampire shoved her away instinctively and Elliot stumbled, landing badly and lurching to the side. She was terrified, her power still cowering somewhere within her and instead she tried to run.

Elliot didn't make it two strides before he had hold of her and they fell to the ground together in a tangle of limbs, his trying to restrain her, hers trying to inflict whatever damage she could. "NO!" The shout bounced off the walls as he grabbed her arms and held them still, her flailing feet doing little to discourage him. "ERIC!" The name escaped her as a final hope - the call of the desperate.

The vampire paused for a second, a frown marring his otherwise cruelly beautiful features. "Eric?" he repeated, startled, before he was ripped away and Elliot could move. She leapt to her feet at once to see that Eric had descended on the vampire like some kind of avenging angel, had him pinned against the wall and he was absolutely furious. His look alone could probably have killed a small child. "_Eric_," the vampire said again, this time with a horrible realisation in his voice, a fear. "She's _yours_? I swear, I didn't know - she said-"

"Silence." The vampire's mouth snapped shut, his eyes wide and focused on the Viking as if nothing else existed. Elliot took several steps back, her head spinning, feeling bruised all over from the brief assault but otherwise okay, if shaken. "You are very lucky, Raul, that this human does not like to witness bloodshed or you would meet your true death tonight. As it is, you and your nest-mates will leave, and if you are out of the country before I awake tomorrow evening, you shall be allowed to live." There was a pause. "I hope I make myself clear."

"Crystal," Raul said softly. He couldn't nod with Eric's fingers so tight around his throat but his eyes were imploring, apologetic - terrified. Eric stepped back and dropped him; Raul shot away in the blink of an eye and Elliot was suddenly alone with her rescuer. She slumped against the wall, blinking wearily, shaking as the shock set in.

"He - he would've..." She couldn't get the words out, could not quite comprehend - and didn't, in fact, want to - what the vampire would have done to her had Eric not arrived in time.

"Drained you dry and left you for dead - yes," Eric spoke tonelessly. He remained where he was, clearly trying to calm himself, and Elliot was silent as she allowed him to do so; she was not so stupid as to poke a seething lion with a stick. She wasn't sure how long had passed but when Eric moved again she'd slid down the wall to sit on the plush carpet, knees drawn up to her chest. The shaking had subsided but her eyes remained wide.

Eric came to stand before her and he offered her a hand, which she took. He pulled her to her feet, setting his hands on her shoulders once she was standing. "You just saved my life," Elliot stated, barely able to comprehend the fact.

"You called for me."

"I thought I was going to die."

"You would have. It was a mistake bringing you here like this."

Elliot frowned at him, biting back a sarcastic comment about his wonderful timing with realising that. "Like what?" she asked instead, toeing at the plush carpet and avoiding his gaze.

"Like _this_. Your blood, Elliot - it smells..." Eric breathed in deeply, eyes slightly vacant. "To drink from you would be a very high pleasure," he said haltingly.

"Well you would know."

Eric stared at her for a long moment before he jerked his head as an indication for her to follow him down the corridor. "You're not safe here - you're not mine, so there's nothing to protect you from the other vampires. You were very lucky I was close enough to hear you scream."

Elliot was not at all comfortable with that sentence but she said nothing, because it was nothing more or less than the truth.

"So...what do we do?" she asked as he led the way back from wherever it was she'd ended up; not the smoking place, for sure. How the hell had she gone so wrong from the lobby? It was like a maze, though Eric seemed to know it well enough.

"You could agree to be mine," he said, turning to look at her very starkly but Elliot was already shaking her head firmly, her jaw set. Eric's expression darkened. "Well if I cannot convince you otherwise, we will have to pretend." And he sounded oh-so-happy about that. Not. It was very clear that to him it was a simple thing for Elliot to just agree and that was it but she wasn't going there and she remained silent, waiting for him to explain. "Being mine would protect you by our laws, but being seen to be mine ought to prevent anything happening."

"What about Sookie?" Elliot asked, distinctly not looking at him and shoving her hands in her pockets. "Doesn't she smell good? 'Cause she's a telepath and all?"

"She does, yes," Eric replied. "But she is Bill's and that is widely known. No vampire will harm her."

Which left her as the weak link. Elliot tried hard to pretend that didn't bother her in the slightest. "So how are we going to ah...pretend?" she questioned as they reached a recognisable patch of hotel and Elliot realised where they were. Eric reached back for her before they rounded the corner, his right arm encircling her waist and pulling her with him into the lobby. "What are you doing?" she asked lowly, instantly uncomfortable as people, human and vampire alike, turned to see who had entered.

"Pretending," Eric replied curtly, heading them towards the desk. There was a woman sitting in front of a computer who looked up as they approached, flashing them a practised smile.

"How can I help you?"

"There appears to be some mistake with the room allocations," Eric said smoothly, leaning on the counter with one arm while his other kept Elliot by his side. She was looking between Eric and the woman with a slight frown; everything had seemed fine to her when they arrived.

"What is that, sir?" the woman, whose name tag read 'Natasha', inquired politely.

"Two rooms have been booked - we need only one." Elliot froze and turned to look sharply at Eric but he was watching the woman closely. He squeezed his arm around her ever so slightly, the small pressure warning Elliot to stay quiet for now. She did, but she wasn't happy about it.

"Oh, I'm very sorry sir," Natasha said at once, clicking at her computer. "I can fix that for you, of course, and refund your card. What was the name?"

"Northman."

Natasha clicked at her keyboard and Elliot watched her fingers move over the keys. She'd been able to type that fast, once - she'd worked on the newspaper while she was in high school, but she hadn't typed anything other than a Google search for a long time. The computer made a low beep and the woman clicked some more while Eric and Elliot stood silent.

"Which room would you be keeping?" she asked, glancing up at Eric.

"V3," Eric supplied. "Drop room 12."

That was Elliot's room. Eric's plan was clicking slowly - too slowly - into place at the back of her mind and she opened her mouth but Eric gave her a slight nudge and shot her a look; _not now_. Elliot's fists clenched at her sides but Natasha was done and it was already too late.

"Sorry about that," the woman apologised again, while Eric assured her it was nothing, thanking her for her time - he was the absolute epitome of charming and had probably made that poor woman's heart beat ridiculously fast even as he walked away, tugging Elliot along with him.

They crossed the lobby in silence, Eric's expression impassive, Elliot's livid, and he pressed a long finger against the call button for the elevator. As soon as the doors slid open Elliot stepped inside and rounded on him with a glare.

"What do you think you're playing at?" she hissed. "What? Are you just going to send me home - what about Sookie? I thought she needed to be prot-"

"I'm not sending you home," Eric cut her off.

Elliot paused, frowning. "Then...what? Where am I..._Eric_. No. Okay? No."

"What? Elliot don't be so childish - this is the only way I can keep you safe without biting you again and telling everyone downstairs that you're mine, and how would you like that?"

Elliot's scowl almost burned a hole in the side of the elevator. "How do you _think _I'd like that?" she snapped at him.

"Not at all, so this is the next best thing. It's just a room - I'm not expecting anything of you; it's a place to sleep." Eric was watching her with a very level look and Elliot was deliberately keeping her eyes away from him. She understood that it made sense, that it was stupid to get worked up about it, that he was actually doing this for her own good, but that didn't mean she had to like it. "I will help you collect your things," he added as the elevator stopped on her floor but she threw a hand out to stop him.

"No - it's fine. I'll get them."

"Elliot-"

"It's _fine_." She fished the keycard from her pocket and strode away from the elevator.

"V3," Eric called out after her as the lift doors slid shut on him. Elliot breathed a small sigh of relief and headed towards the room she was _supposed_to be in, swiping the card and stepping inside. Thankfully she hadn't had time to unpack earlier so the suitcase was still full of her things and had been dumped on the bed.

Elliot sat on the bed for a moment, sucking in a breath. No, she and Eric weren't anything and no, he wasn't expecting anything. She also didn't think he would try anything, but the last person she had trusted enough to share a room with had been Michael, and she'd never thought he would hurt her either. Elliot ran a hand through her hair, looking around. She'd been so furious to think that she was being sent home - wasn't this better? At least now Sookie would still have someone to be with her in the daylight; at least now Elliot could make sure she didn't get hurt.

And Eric would, she reminded herself, be utterly useless during the day. She realised with a jolt that, for all she'd been focusing on how scary it was for her, this was a huge leap for him, too. He was trusting her while he slept, trusting her not to hurt him while he was utterly defenceless. She wouldn't - that time had passed - but he couldn't know that for sure, just as she couldn't know for sure that he wouldn't hurt her.

Trust.

They were going to have to trust each other, all for some missing vampire who nobody knew a whole lot about, and if they did they weren't telling. Elliot huffed out a frustrated sigh. "_Vampires_," she muttered darkly, seizing the handle of her case and getting to her feet. She flicked off the light switch and closed the door, tucking the card into her back pocket.

Eric would be expecting her upstairs - his room was several floors up - but Elliot took a detour via the lobby to return the card first, deciding that the stupid bloody Viking could wait on _her_for a change. When she did eventually arrive outside his door she found herself nervous as she lifted a hand to knock.

"It's open," Eric called from inside, and Elliot pushed against the handle, using her shoulder to budge it open. If she'd thought her room was luxurious, it was nothing compared to this. The bed - massive, stupidly massive - had the same bronze and cream cover on a soft, feathered quilt. The dark wooden panels were interspersed with portraits and paintings, the carpet so thick beneath her boots Elliot had to glance down to check it _was_ carpet, a television that would look right at home in a cinema, a wooden door that led to what she assumed was the bathroom and then Eric, lying across the bed and looking very much at ease as he watched her take the place in.  
>"To your liking?" he asked, sitting up lazily and arching his eyebrows at her. Elliot's eyes flashed to his and she nodded, not sure what to say. Eric's lips curled. "Good." He stood up quickly, taking Elliot's case from her hand and setting it on the couch that was off to one side of the massive room before he flashed back and was in front of the door. "I have business I need to attend to, but before I leave there are some things you need to know."<p>

Elliot's expression grew instantly suspicious. "What?" she asked cautiously.

"First - this is a light tight room. When I return tonight I will turn off any and all lights so when you wake tomorrow it will be dark. Don't let that panic you - the switch is close to the bed." Eric moved across the room and gestured, as if Elliot couldn't see it for herself, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Turning them on won't disturb me. I think." He frowned slightly and Elliot tilted her head at him.

"You think?" she repeated.

Eric nodded. "I don't believe I have ever had somebody turn a light on while I have been sleeping." He looked thoughtful for a second and then his expression cleared. "Not that I expect that to bother you," he said dryly, and Elliot smirked lightly. "Second - the room locks from the inside but I would suggest leaving that until I return or I will have to wake you before dawn." Eric looked at her very seriously. "If you wish to lock it, fine, but you will need to let me in or I will be...displeased tomorrow evening."

Elliot nodded once. "I'll leave it unlocked."

"I trust I do not need to tell you not to open that door to anybody but myself?" he asked, eyebrows arched again.

"What?" Elliot returned sarcastically. "And there was me thinking I'd go invite every crazy vampire in town to come hang out." Her tone was as light as she could make it but Elliot shuddered slightly, growing serious at once as she tried very hard not to remember the reason she was feeling so out of sorts. "Got it - nobody except you."

Eric nodded, pleased. "Then you should sleep. Do not open the door tomorrow until I rise."

"As if I would," Elliot said, mildly offended that he'd felt the need to say so. Eric looked somewhat appeased by her response and his lips curled.

"I will be in the bar with Bill - I don't imagine you will be awake when I return." He paused as though he wanted to say something else and then gave his head a slight shake. "Goodnight, Elliot."

Elliot bit her lip and sucked in a breath. "Thank you for saving my life," she said, quickly but seriously.

The vampire stared at her for a long moment. "Any time," he told her pleasantly, and then he was gone. Elliot shut the door behind him but didn't lock it; instead she turned to Eric's room and let out her breath in one go. She'd have liked to take the time to fully enjoy spending the night in a room such as this but she was bone tired and feeling slightly ill since the encounter with the vampire; it was all good and well acting fine in front of Eric but inside she still felt like mush and when she pulled her sleeves up she could already see bruises beginning to form.

The sight was nothing new, and that was why the bile rose in her throat. Taking another deep breath to calm herself, Elliot hurried into the bathroom, deciding that going to sleep and forgetting the whole thing was her only favourable option. Besides which, she didn't think she really wanted to be awake when Eric arrived back because that would invite a whole host of awkwardness and confused feelings that she just wasn't prepared to deal with right now.

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><p><strong>AN: The title is from the song Rooftops by Lostprophets. <strong>

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter! The next two chapters are...different. But I hope you'll like them and if not – it's only two so I'm hoping you'll be able to look beyond them :P **

**Let me know what you thought? **


	23. Never Gonna Happen Again

_if you wade around forever_

_you will surely drown_

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><p>Elliot's heart was hammering, her hands shaking as she lit another cigarette – her fifth? Sixth? It might have been her tenth – she'd lost track, had just lit them one after the other and blown the smoke out the window because this was technically a non-smoker place. Michael probably hadn't even realised she was here; she'd locked the door the second he stumbled in twenty minutes ago and she'd shut the fuck up.<p>

Why? It was all that would go through her head – _why_? Why him, why her? Why Michael, her Michael? Why did he change? Why did it have to be him, why did he have to change like _that_? Why wouldn't he stop, why did he say he loved her, why did she still love him, why was she still here, why didn't she run, why didn't she hit back?

She didn't know. She never knew.

Elliot lit another cigarette.

* * *

><p><em>cover up with make up in the mirror<em>

* * *

><p>"Ellieeeeee." The word, crooned oh-so-softly against the bathroom door, caused everything she had to freeze up. Her heart was pounding double-time, hard enough to hurt, enough to let her know she was still alive. Her cigarette fell into the sink and went out, harmless. Michael hated it when she smoked, Elliot remembered through a thick haze of nothingness that was her only form of protection against him. The cigarette would make him mad.<p>

Numbly, she picked it from the sink and threw it out the window, turning on the faucet with hands that shook so much it was difficult. "Ellie, c'mon open the door; I wanna talk to you babe." She dragged in a breath, wishing for another cigarette, another drag, just one more. But that was impossible; he'd found her. She had to open the door or he'd break it down.

"_Elliot_." This was a command. It was accompanied by a sharp bang as Michael's foot connected with the wood. "Open the fucking door."

* * *

><p><em>tell yourself it's never gonna happen again<em>

* * *

><p>The door opened slowly on Elliot's end but Michael shoved against it and it bounced back. Elliot took a sharp step back to avoid it and Michael stood staring at her. "There you are," he said, as though he was pleased to see her. He had a smile on his face – the scary smile. The smile that was like the old Michael, the one that was lop-sided and crinkled and careless. Except this wasn't old Michael. "C'mon babe, c'mon – let's watch a film," he suggested, reaching for her.<p>

Elliot stiffened but allowed his fingers to close about her wrist. He gave a soft tug and she followed him out of the bathroom, knowing better than to think that tonight might be different. He'd been drinking; she could smell it, could almost taste it as the scent clawed its way down her throat and settled in her blood.

Michael paused as she stepped, turning so they were standing very close. He breathed in and closed his eyes. Something flashed across his face – something nameless and familiar. Elliot tried to pull back but his grip had already turned to steel. "You been smoking?"

* * *

><p><em>you cry alone and then he swears he loves you<em>

* * *

><p>His words cut through the air and Elliot knew better than to deny what was obvious. Michael wasn't expecting a response anyway; he yanked her arm out to the side and with his other hand grabbed her jacket. Her cigarettes were in her inside pocket and his fingers crushed the packet as he jerked it out. "What the <em>fuck<em> did I tell you about _fucking smoking_?" he demanded, staring at her with his wild eyes.

"I – I'm sorry," Elliot said quickly, resisting the temptation to twist her wrist away from him; he would only get angrier. "I'm sorry Michael, please – I'm sorry – you're _hurting_me."

"I'm hurting you?" Michael repeated with a high, choking laugh. "_I'm_hurting you? I'M TRYING TO TEACH YOU!" he roared and he gave Elliot a hard shake, releasing her with a shove that sent her back banging against the wall behind.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her eyes on the floor, her wrist clutched by the fingers of her left hand.

* * *

><p><em>do you feel like a man, as you push her around?<em>

* * *

><p>Michael's grip on the packet had been enough to destroy it and crush the cigarettes within; there weren't many left. Maybe four, maybe five. His fist was shaking. "This is what you spend our money on, Elliot? Your own fucking <em>death<em>? What did I tell you, huh? What did I fucking tell you?"

Elliot swallowed hard. "Not to," she said softly, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"What? _What_? I can't FUCKING HEAR YOU, SPEAK UP!" His hand grabbed her chin and forced her head upwards so she was looking at him. "What did I tell you Elliot?" he asked dangerously.

"Not to smoke," she said dully, the words shapeless against his grip on her chin. "You told me not to smoke."

"And what did you do, huh? What the fuck did you go and fucking do?"

"I'm sorry."

* * *

><p><em>do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?<em>

* * *

><p>The packet flew through the air too quickly for Elliot to dodge and it hit her on the cheek, falling to the floor with a soft thud. Michael took two strides forward and crushed the packet into the wood before his hands were on Elliot's shoulders and he shook her again. "You do not fucking smoke, understand? What do I have to do to get you to fucking LISTEN?" With the last word he shoved her with all the force he had and Elliot sprawled against the ground.<p>

He was coming towards her already and Elliot kicked back to shuffle away. "Stop – Michael please, stop! Don't!" But his fist had already flown and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

* * *

><p><em>every action in this world will bear a consequence<em>

* * *

><p>"Please – don't, please!" Her voice was a gasp, her head spinning as Elliot staggered to her feet and pressed back against the wall. Her vision had gone slightly fuzzy and her head was hot at the back, like someone had pressed a burning thumb against the top of her skull. A thin needle of pain was passing from that point to just behind her eyes but she could still see Michael lurch forwards.<p>

His fist flies again and Elliot can't get out of the way quickly enough. "Please, _please_ don't!" She hates herself for the words but they can't be helped; this is the last resort because she cannot – _will not_– use her curse on another human. In any case when Michael comes for her the power cowers away and Elliot is nothing more than human as his anger consumes her and she can only cry.

She does – she cries and her arms are stuck and there's nothing she can do because he's _there_ and his fists are indenting in her ribs and he's making sure she will never forget him. There's blood and there's pain and there's yelling – she doesn't know if it's him or her at this point but she can't move, she's trapped and she needs to get free, needs to run and run and run so he will _never_find her and she'll run so far that she'll never fall in love again and-

And suddenly Michael is not there. She's in bed, a soft bed and it's massive and it's unfamiliar. Her arms are still stuck and Elliot yanks them back to herself, scrambling to be free of those binds and her eyes are on the man in the room – not Michael but Eric.

Eric who she kissed, Eric who bit her, Eric who makes her so mad and so excited at the same time. Eric who looks like an angel and talks the devil, the entire reason she is here and the reason why she isn't sure if she wants to run any more. Eric who cares no more for her than he does for the petty dancers he has for his entertainment on a Friday night at his club. Eric who she thinks she might be falling for and it's _wrong_, it's exactly what she was never supposed to do and exactly what she was running from but there it is; her stomach flips because he is _there_and in that moment she hates him for it.

* * *

><p><em>one day she will tell you she's had enough<em>

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><p><strong>AN: ...Please don't hate me ._. <strong>

**The song for the title and the lyrics throughout is Face Down by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Um...I don't really know what to say, though except if you hated this please don't be put off and I love you all for reading and...yep. I'm so nervous about putting this up, no lie. Please let me know what you thought?**


	24. I Found A Way To Get Lost In You

_somehow I found_

_a way to get lost in you_

_let me inside_

_let me get close to you_

* * *

><p>I force myself to sit in the bar for a long time. I'm growing pathetic over this human and staying in that room would only have worsened it, which is why I find myself sitting side by side with none other than Bill Compton. His smugness is almost overwhelming, his voice nearly able to send me into a human sleep. I have no idea what he is talking about; I do not care. My thoughts are straying against my will and it is difficult to focus on anything beyond the room upstairs and the human lying in it.<p>

There is a bottle of TruBlood on the table before us - Compton ordered it before informing me that he had no intention of drinking the foul stuff (for which I find I cannot blame him) because his sole purpose in buying it was simply to waste my money. I find that even this does not bother me at present.

He is still talking about his human, Sookie Stackhouse. Even I must admit she is an intriguing creature and the scent of her blood is unlike most humans - I found myself more than a little tempted by her the few times we met, until Elliot walked into my bar. Now I find that what appeal the telepath held is very little in terms of blood - her skills, on the other hand, mean a lot to me. Telepaths are rare - incredibly rare - and I would hate to lose her. Even so I find myself regretting the decision to bring Elliot into this.

I should never have told her her job here was to protect Sookie; she is a fool and it doesn't take a thousand years of observing human behavior for me to know that she will risk her own wellbeing to do so. Not, I might add, because it is what I ordered but because she and the telepath are _friends_. How I despise that word - _friend_. What even is a friend?

Compton is still talking. I find myself reaching the edge of my capability to listen to his voice and I stand to leave without a word. He is unsurprised, perhaps even a little amused. I do not care. I have reason to pause when he asks about Godric - the only one for whom I would risk Elliot's safety - and I narrow my eyes at the younger vampire. I am aware that this is not something I will be able to avoid with another of my kind and I take a second to school my expression but I cannot admit that this is personal - not to Bill Compton.

"Godric is a very great vampire," I tell him. I will say nothing beyond this and I walk away from him. I should get a drink - I could order from the menu here. There are humans paid to feed us, humans who enjoy it - welcome it. Humans who are not Elliot. I could use this situation to my advantage and speak with the vampires here, make good impressions and spread my name, extend invitations to my Area and further my influence. But I do not. I do not want to. I step inside the elevator and I press the button and even as I hate myself for it, I am glad I did so.

I make my way over to my room - our room, perhaps I should think of it as - and open the door. Elliot left it unlocked, as I advised. She is sleeping. I find it difficult to control myself at the sight of her and I shut the door; I do not lock it. Somehow I do not trust myself that I will not grab her in the next few minutes and take her even against her will. Should that happen, she must be able to get away.

It takes a few seconds but I push myself from the room and into the bathroom. I lock the door, turn on the water. These human comforts are so delightful - the hotel has provided toiletries that I see Elliot has wasted no time in using.

I take a long bath; I have a while until dawn but I refuse to spend another minute of my time in the company of one Bill Compton. I highly suspect that he feels much the same. As soon as I am done I walk back into the bedroom, realising once I am out there that perhaps I ought to dress myself in something so I tug my pants back on. The gesture is reluctant but Elliot will prefer it this way.

I plan on sleeping in the bed, but for now I make myself comfortable in the chair at the corner of the room, kicking one leg over the arm and turning so I can observe the bed from my position. I should be making a plan to find Godric, I know this. I am incredibly worried for my Maker - more worried than I could admit to anyone other than myself - but I need to speak with Stan and the others before we can decide anything. While this should not excuse me from the task of finding a way of recovering him, I let it. I don't want to think about those things which make me worried or unsettled; I'd like to think about Elliot.

She looks very different when she's asleep - I know this because I have watched her sleep once before, but it was different then. Tonight she has her arms wrapped around her and her legs bent; her eyes are closed but they move as she dreams. Sometimes she shifts or utters something even I cannot decipher. The covers are thrown haphazardly over her body, one shoulder visible, and her face is half-buried in the pillow. Her hair is a mess, splayed in a dark tangle of just-washed spikes, and from this angle I can see where I bit her.

"_Stop_."

I blink, sitting up straight. "Excuse me?" But she is not speaking to me. Her eyes remain closed but her fist clenches against her shoulder. I worry for a second that she will wake up and I won't be able to watch her any longer but she mumbles something else, jerks slightly and is still again. I don't have breath to hold but I let out a small sigh nonetheless. She spoke last time - I wondered then who she thought she was speaking to, what she was dreaming of, and the curiosity cuts even deeper now.

"_Don't_!" Her voice is clearer now and Elliot gives a small gasp. Her head moves back sharply and she recoils into the mattress, pulling the covers with her. Her face screws up for a second before it relaxes completely. "_Please - don't, please_!" These words are louder and I glance towards the door for a split second but the walls are thick; I doubt anyone but I can hear her.

"Elliot?" I say softly. I'm not at all sure if humans are supposed to be woken while dreaming but the desperation and the hurt in her voice makes my stomach cramp with an unfamiliar pain. I do not like it.

"_DON'T_!" This time her voice is a yell but she doesn't wake. Her fists are clenched so tightly I can see the ridges of bone beneath the skin of her knuckles, which are white as milk. "_Please, please don't_!" Her voice is ragged now and she's breathing quickly; it's very clear she's having a nightmare and I feel for a second a moment of panic - I am at sea. I have no idea what to do and this is an unfamiliar feeling, but she has relaxed already, her face blank in sleep once again.

"Elliot?" I try again, softer than before. I don't want to wake her, but I don't want her to dream any more either. She rolls over and her back is to me, one leg tossed carelessly over the covers. She appears to be sleeping soundly again but I can no longer see her face. To move to the other side of the room makes me feel like I'm a little too invested so I remain in the chair. I notice that she didn't change for bed, despite showering - she's wearing the same ripped jeans she arrived in, though her jacket is hanging up behind the door.

I don't have long to dwell on this because she dreams again soon enough and my stomach is itching with that same odd pain from before. It sounds almost like she is crying, except there are no tears, and she rolls over quickly with a mumbled shout. As she moves she tugs the blanket with her, but she twists back at the last second with a shout and her arms get tangled. Elliot seems to freeze for a moment before she jerks, hard, and lets out the loudest cry yet. This seems to do the trick because I find myself quite suddenly staring at a wide-eyed and very awake Elliot.

For a second she is stunned to see me and then her face has darkened into the most furious scowl I have ever seen her wear. For a second I feel quite as though I have been caught in some illegal act.

"Eric." She is seething.

"Elliot," I reply, cautious. It's clear I was never meant to witness what just happened.

She is still slightly disorientated with sleep, I think, and her movements are slow as she untangles herself and slides off the bed. There's nothing but sharp anger in every angle of her face and all of that anger, right now, is directed at me. She is obviously fighting for control; I can feel the air growing stiff, feel the static rise, but Elliot calms herself in silence and with closed eyes. Standing there in old jeans and a worn shirt, barefoot and shivering, she seems almost a child.

But then she opens her eyes and she's the same Elliot she always was.

I feel, inexplicably, that I ought to apologise but I keep my lips firmly together; I have no need to apologise, not even to Elliot. Especially to Elliot. She folds herself onto the edge of the bed, facing away from me, and her shoulders fall in defeat.

"Sorry," she mumbles. I confess that I was surprised. Of all the things I expected to come from her mouth, her own apology was not something I even considered. Profanities and insults, yes. A slight on my character, most definitely - but an apology?

"For what?" I ask, standing and moving towards her. I walk around the bed; I feel somehow that coming up behind her would startle her right now. She doesn't move as I sit beside her, the lamp at the bedside throwing her small shadow over my thighs.

"For _that_," she replies, waving a hand behind her to indicate the bed. "I know I talk. I'm sorry."

"I wish you would talk more," I tell her truthfully. I don't think I have ever wanted to know anyone as desperately as I want to know this mortal. It is, perhaps, shameful, but it is true.

Elliot is shaking her head but she has already said enough, and I have already seen enough, that her story is slowly becoming clearer. "I thought you were in the bar with Bill," she says after a moment.

"Even my patience is not infinite," I tell her dryly, allowing the change of subject because her heart rate is still not quite normal.

"Could've fooled me." That sounds more like her; her lips have even twitched a little. It's the ghost of a smile but it is, at least, there. It is something.

We sit together in silence for a long time; dawn cannot be too far away now - I can feel it creeping closer, making my bones heavier, but I have a little time; I can last perhaps an hour longer. Elliot's movement is surprising from the still air, but she shifts backwards to lie down, her gaze fixed on the ceiling. Every time she blinks her eyelids stay shut a fraction of a second longer.

I pick myself up and lock the door so that nobody from outside can enter while the sun is up and then I circle back around. I pause for a second at the edge of the bed and Elliot moves, the tiniest bit, to the side. I lie beside her and as she drifts into sleep I reach down between us and twine my fingers into hers. She doesn't pull away.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: First – so, so sorry this took so long, my life got a bit mad and all 'thou shalt not write fanfic' and I was powerless in the face of such...power. Ahem. I am still apologetic, however. Also because this is another weird chapter, not only because of the whole first person thing but also present tense and Eric POV so...yeah. I don't even know where it came from but I just had to write it like this. The next chapter is normal though, I swear, so if you hated this please return next update because I think it's out of my system now. If you liked itwant to see that more often/whatever, let me know because it helps me get to know the characters anyway. If not...no worries because normalness is cool too!**

**Also – this isn't identical to the way things happened in the show and if that bothers you – I'm sorry. It's mostly the same but the series of events in conversation with Bill/Eric were different – just writing up the whole script would be a bit dull for me and would also restrict me to writing only in front of the tv which isn't fun so...apologies for that, too. Also sorry for this super longer author's note...I must be in a talkative mood.**

**Title is from Lost in You by Three Days Grace. It's not the most fitting thing in the world but y'know, such is life. **

**So anyway, please please let me know what you though because feedback on this is...greatly needed. Also tomorrow's gonna be a not-good day and having reviews to read would make it all better...yes this is a shameless plug. I love you all so much for reading this/sticking with it even though I've taken way longer than normal to update – thank you all so, so much.**


	25. Heartless At Best

Godric's house was massive, modern and private; the vampires here were clearly not overkeen on mixing too much with the human populace, though Elliot would wager all she had that they bent that rule for blood whenever they felt the fancy. From what Eric had told her, these vampires were not the sort to be trifled with; they were the sort who hurt for sport and spat on the likes of TruBlood. True enough Eric disliked the stuff, but he at least saw the benefits of mainstreaming; Stan, the big guy around here in Godric's absence, did not.

Elliot had stepped up to the front door at Eric's side with more than a little tension knotting her stomach but her expression was blank; nobody, except perhaps Michael, would have been able to read her worry unless they truly cared to look for it. Eric seemed tense himself, quiet and withdrawn, while Bill made his disquiet with the situation known and Sookie trailed along trying to placate him. Elliot, at least, took some comfort from the presence of the blond vampire; since last night every shared, moment-long glance had seemed to strike against something inside her and somehow being at his side felt a lot more _right_ than it ever had. Not that that made the vampires in here any less fearsome.

A den of snakes, Bill had called this nest and the vampires it housed. Elliot worried that he was right, but it was too late to back out now and in any case she was already sold to the cause. Stan had turned out to be a hulking giant of a vampire, thick set and muscled more than even Alcide, his hair dark, thick and coarse, his voice rough and his eyes cold. The cowboy boots, however, had thrown the image somewhat, and Elliot was at odds with her opinion of him as her gaze trailed the vampire.

Isabel was beautiful to behold and a great deal more pleasant than Stan. She'd offered a smile, though a tight one, in their direction as the small group from Louisiana stepped inside. Tall and slim, with hair dark as the night that was all the vampires knew. Her beauty, however, only enhanced the air of danger she gave off with a curl of her lips and a glance in the right direction; she, too, was not the sort to be trifled with. Despite that, Elliot found herself liking the woman where she disliked Stan; he was too loud, too brash and far too much like Michael for her to stand looking at him too long before averting her eyes. He was also angry, which reminded her all the more of the man who gave chase even after so long.

Stan's eyes were contemptuous as they passed first over Elliot, at Eric's side, and then over Sookie, who stood with Bill. His lip curled, fangs unsheathed in his anger. The blond vampire was pacing, his eyes restless though never far from Stan, and Stan himself was about as pissed as they came without actually attacking. Though she was within touching distance of Sookie, with Eric prowling about the room and no longer by her side, Elliot felt very suddenly alone as the furious gaze landed on her.

"You should've told me Eric'd hired fucking _humans_, Isobel," Stan snarled, apparently deciding that the Viking was below his attention at present. Elliot's gaze was hard on the dark haired vampire, her offence tangible in the way the air thickened but nobody seemed to notice, except Eric. His pacing brought him close by Elliot for a second and he pressed two fingers lightly against her wrist, where her pulse ran, before his pacing continued uninterrupted. It wasn't much but it was enough and Elliot pulled in a breath, the air around them relaxing as Sookie voiced her own annoyance.

"Now wait just a _minute _-" she began, only to be cut off as Bill stepped up to her shoulder.

"Respect her," he snapped at Stan, who only smirked. Isabel turned to him instead, her lovely voice quiet but angry just the same.

"I _couldn't_ tell you, Stan – you've been off on your own for days," she told the dark haired vampire, arms folded as she observed him with a chilly expression.

"Are you _certain _Godric was abducted by the Fellowship of the Sun?" Eric cut in, speaking for the first time and voicing the question he'd been musing over with Elliot and to himself for hours now. They knew that the church had been the ones to try and take Sookie, but while Eric was largely assuming that meant they had Godric, it couldn't be for certain. For all they knew the FoS was just one branch of a much larger plot.

"Yes."

"No."

Two answers at the same time and Elliot turned away, rolling her eyes as she shifted, restless as the vampire she'd spent the night with. "They are the _only_ ones with the organisation and manpower," Stan told Eric as Isabel turned to him.

"But they're _amateurs_," she countered, arms folded and evidently tired of voicing the same facts over and over. "It doesn't make any _sense. _This is _Godric_ we're talking about." And again with Godric; all Elliot knew about him was that he was some great vampire, great enough to have what felt almost like the whole of the _world_ shifting with unease at his disappearance and _still_ Elliot knew little about him aside from his damned name.

Sookie broke in, ever the diplomat, but Stan ran her ideas down, spreading his hands as his voice got a notch louder. "Full out attack," he said resolutely with a sharp nod of his head. War was what he wanted, quite evidently, and Elliot's dislike for him increased. Any man who yearned for hurt and battle was not much of a man, in her opinion. Any man who inflicted pain on others for his own damnable reasons wasn't much of anyone, but she kept her jaw tight because if she started talking she'd just start arguing and that wasn't going to help this case overly. What the hell she was doing there she didn't know; Eric had admitted earlier that he wished he'd left her behind, and that he had half a mind to return her to Bon Temps until she'd sworn fervently at him and told him in no uncertain terms that she'd make her own way right _back_ just _because_.

She scowled at Stan's 'plan'; _extermination_ was hardly the answer – wasn't this whole thing to _prevent_ a killing? "Yeah," she said, voice unexpected from her silence and dripping with sarcasm; five heads turned sharply to look at her. "Vampire-hating church gets burned to the ground – I wonder who did _that_. Excellent plan." Isabel shot her a tiny smile but Stan scowled, his body swaying as though he had a mind to step towards her until a low, wordless growl from Eric had him in place, though furious.

Bill said something about the _King_ of Texas that had Elliot starting, and Stan replied coldly, giving Isabel cause to berate him. Elliot was miles behind, still stuck on wondering when the hell _Texas_ had become a monarchy and why she hadn't been in on that memo before realising belatedly that they probably meant a _vampire_ king and by then Eric's patience had been worn to the ground.

"You are _completely incompetent_," he snarled, swinging around to glare at the Dallas vampires. Elliot jumped as he spoke up, his voice loud behind her, and she turned to look at him but his focus was beyond her. "What's happened to Godric that he surrounds himself with clowns?" he asked icily, blue eyes sweeping from Isabel to Stan. The former stepped towards him and Elliot's fists clenched as her voice spilled out, just as icy as Eric's.

"We invited you as a courtesy," she told him coldly. "This is not your territory – you have no voice here."

Stan smirked. "Yeah, _Sheriff_," he said mockingly. "Why don't you run on back down to Louisiana?" Was this how vampire politics worked? Mindless bickering until five hundred years later something eventually got done? This was pathetic, and nothing like what little snippets she'd seen of vampires so far had led her to believe it would be.

"Oh I'm not going anywhere," Eric assured him, danger in every word. Elliot's eyes flashed to Sookie as she spoke up but the waitress was ignored, much as Elliot was being.

"What we _need _is a _plan,_" Bill spoke up, with the first sensible words Elliot had heard in a while and Isabel and Stan set to bickering again. The cowboy confirmed Elliot's suspicion as his eyes narrowed. "It's not a movie," he rebuked Isabel's words firmly. "It's a _war_."

"Idiots." Eric had had enough (and Elliot was surprised his patience had lasted even this long); he turned on his heel and stalked away. There was an uncomfortable silence; Stan was seething, Isabel's eyes had rolled heavenwards and Sookie and Bill were shooting each other worried glances. Elliot sighed.

"I'll go after him," she said, turning before any of them could say a thing and striding after Eric. She hadn't a clue where he'd gone but she'd rather spend hours searching this house for him than another minute with the bickering vampires. Fortunately the Viking hadn't gone far; the first door to the grounds and Elliot had him – he always seemed happier outside, not the sort to enjoy being cooped up, and she found him beneath an old and sprawling tree in a little garden that was secluded from the rest of the house by tall hedges.

"Godric's chances of returning safe head evermore towards _zero_," he said as she approached. Elliot stopped beside him and slid her hands into her pockets.

"Is this how vampires work, then?" she asked after a moment. "Argue and argue until someone gives in?"

"Mostly," he replied, his voice deep in the quiet night. "Stan will always go for the fight, Isabel would rather be cunning; Bill cares only for his human and thus nobody will ever agree."

Elliot was thoughtful for a second and she stepped around Eric to circle the tree, simply for something to do. "What about you?"

"I will do whatever it takes to free Godric," Eric said without hesitation, as Elliot had known he would. It was that, more than anything else, that made her want to free the old vampire. Eric was not the sort to attach to things easily but to Godric he was incredibly attached and for that, she wanted him safe. Not that her want was going to mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it was there all the same.

"Whatever it takes," she repeated, leaning against the trunk on the opposite side of Eric. The moon was bright overhead and Elliot looked up at it, biting her lip for a second. "If we can prove, absolutely, that the Fellowship has Godric, what then?"

"Then we get him out." The resolve was clear in his voice, even without being able to see the vampire's expression.

His words alone didn't spell out a plan but Elliot didn't mistake his tone; whatever it took was what he would do, whatever it cost – _whoever_ it cost. "People will get hurt." Both of them knew it; there was no need to say it but Elliot couldn't _not_.

"I don't like it much either," Eric admitted. "Especially as Stan is like to kill them all, but what else am I to do?" He was suddenly _there_, in front of her without Elliot's realising he had even moved, and he was staring down at her as though he expected her to have all the answers by some magic. She didn't. "I will kill them myself if they stand between me and Godric."

"And if they don't?"

"It is Stan who sees mercy as a weakness, not me." But he had a temper on him and Elliot was fairly certain that she and he would have differing ideas about what 'standing in the way' entailed. The gist of it, though, was that Eric wanted Godric and Stan wanted a fight.

"If we get Godric out without anybody noticing then nobody need be hurt," Elliot pointed out after thinking on it for a minute or so, during Eric had stood silent and expectant. "If nobody notices there won't even _be_ a fight."

"In theory," Eric agreed. He shifted to lean against the trunk himself, his body so close that Elliot had to force herself to focus on the matter at hand and not his chest. "Stan is one for revenge, though, and I doubt getting him out will be a simple matter. If it was Godric would be back with us already."

"Well then we do it carefully," Elliot replied. "With a fucking good plan."

Eric nodded slowly, his eyes on her. "And that plan is?"

"Pretty much non-existent," she shrugged. "I dunno, Eric – I'm just talking." Elliot took a tiny step back, telling herself she was imagining the slight disappointment from Eric at that, and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it in silence and taking a drag that she blew skywards. "If we can get in without being noticed, we could get out without being noticed." Getting out _with_ Godric would be harder, sure, but half-baked plans that were largely made up on the fly always seemed to work the best anyway.

"I don't like all these 'we's," Eric said warily.

Elliot scoffed. "Give over, Eric. You brought me here to protect Sookie, so here I am. I _know_ you're not so stupid that you haven't even considered what I'm thinking."

"I have considered it, then dismissed it," Eric told her stiffly.

"For no good reason."

"For _very_ good reason," he countered, sounding angry now. Elliot blew out more smoke, watching him without worry. "To send the two of you inside would be madness – not only because of the danger to yourselves but if you were caught Godric would be lost at once. The minute they know we're onto them they'll kill him."

Elliot flicked ash away, running her tongue over her lower lip as she shook her head. "_Caught_," she repeated. "What's to be _caught_, Eric? Sookie and I'll be two idiots looking for some new church – we'll be all hookey and howdy-do and praise Jesus or whatever. Sookie can listen, find out if they have Godric – maybe even _where_ – and then we have the means to make a plan."

"Risky," he countered, looking less sure and in that moment Elliot knew she had him.

"Not," she said. "There's nothing _risky_ about two women looking for a new church – our old pastor slept with his brother's wife or something – _gosh_, imagine that – and presto. The only risky part is being brainwashed into their idiocy." And there was little chance of _that_ for a woman who had long ago given up on God lending her any help.

Eric finally smiled, just a little, but it was enough. "I doubt anything could brainwash you, Elliot," he told her, shaking his head. Elliot laughed quietly, flicking the cigarette stub away. Eric's eyes watched it fall. "I wish you wouldn't smoke those things," he said, serious again. "They'll kill you."

"At this rate I think it'll be crazy vampires, not cigarettes, that'll kill me," she replied casually, though it was something of a genuine worry, none of which ran deep as the fear that it would be Michael who killed her in the end.

The vampire's blue eyes closed for a second. "Don't say that." But then he opened them again and he looked himself once more, albeit strained and worried and somehow paler than he had been last night, though that might have been the brightness of the moon. Either way, there was a lot he wasn't saying.

"So – we have a plan. We should go back inside and tell the others before Sookie bitch-slaps Stan," Elliot said, turning away from Eric, who was laughing for reasons she couldn't fathom.

"That," he told her, "is something I would pay to see."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I really, really hate this chapter and I am so, so sorry for it but I just can't rewrite it again; I'm bored of it and I hate it so I'm putting it up and then I can move on to the ones I really want to write. In short – sorry it's so crappy, the next one will be better because we're getting into the good stuff! <strong>

**I meant to say last chapter but I reached 100 reviews! And I honestly can't even tell you how unbelievably happy that makes me, I almost shrieked when I saw and just – thank you all so much for reading, reviewing – just having a look. It means more to me than I could ever say and just...thank you. If I could give everyone reading this now a massive chocolate-covered Eric, I totally would. Even though I'd be tempted to keep him for myself I'd give him to you guys – **_**that's**_** how much I love you all. **

**Unfortunately what with all this worry about Godric going on and Stan being...well, Stan, Elliot and Eric haven't had a chance to examine what that night changed for them, if anything – but they will. They will. **

**The title makes absolutely zero sense for the chapter – I was mostly just thinking of Stan and figured it was close enough, but it's a song by New Found Glory. I did want something more fitting but it's really late and I have work tomorrow and I hate this chapter anyway so I'm going to give it a crappy title!**

**Thanks for reading, as always, and I'm hoping to get the next chapter up before the week is over to make up for slow updating times recently and general rubbishness of this one. Night all! :3 **


	26. Lion's Den

"This is ridiculous," Elliot scowled as the car pulled to a stop. The mission, the undercover story, the infiltration of the church – she understood that that was necessary. The _skirt_, however, was very nearly a step too far. Elliot did _not_ wear skirts. You couldn't _run_ in them. Eric had told her flat out, however, that ripped jeans just wouldn't cut it for the Fellowship and everyone had decided to agree with him. Even Isabel's random human who was there purely because he was a _man_ – the fact of which made Elliot want to hit him just _because_ – had agreed.

So here she was, wearing some idiotic skirt of Sookie's and a shirt, stupid little pumps and a pathetic little bag. She was uncomfortable and irritated and felt nothing like _herself_.

"It won't be for long," Sookie muttered consolingly as they all clambered out and turned to face the yellowness that was Sarah Newlin. Elliot blinked at her, wondering how anyone could actually be so yellow and look that happy about it before deciding that she didn't really want to know.

"Well hi there!" she chirped and Elliot decided she didn't like her at once, simply because she was in an awful mood and the sun was beating down and this woman was just a bit too _smiley_. It freaked her out a bit; Sookie had been like that when they first met and then Elliot had been informed that the woman read freaking _minds_. Then again, Sookie had turned out to be very nice and maybe even a friend, but Sookie also didn't wear entirely yellow outfits and was therefore decidedly more trustworthy. "I just happened to be looking out the window as y'all were driving up and I thought I'd come on out here and greet you myself!"

_Lucky us_, Elliot mused, well aware that she was being completely unfair to the poor woman but not actually bothered by it too much right now seeing as after today she'd probably never see her again. She did, however, pull a smile onto her features because she didn't want to screw this up before they'd even begun, and she fell into step beside Sookie.

"I'm Sarah Newlin, and y'all are?"

Hugo opened his mouth to speak, like they'd all agreed because he was probably going to be the best at the acting charade they were going to have to put on, but Sookie jumped in before he could say anything. "Hi; Holly Simpson," the waitress introduced herself, matching the other woman's tone. "I cannot believe I'm actually meeting you in person – you are cute as a _button_!"

Elliot had to pretend to sneeze at that and she turned away to deal with a sudden 'coughing fit' as the two women exchanged pleasantries and Hugo was introduced while Elliot choked into fisted hands in an attempt to keep any snorting laughter to a minimum. Straightening up once she thought she had control of herself (though admittedly her eyes were stinging a bit), Elliot smiled across at the woman, who was watching her with what appeared to be genuine concern on her features.

"Sorry," Elliot said quickly, clearing her throat. "Summer cold, y'know?"

"Aww it happens to the best of us," Sarah crooned at her.

"Ella," Elliot mentioned after a moment, offering her hand. "Rufus' sister – I just can't _wait_ to see my big brother getting married to this little ray of sunshine!"

Sarah gave a small giggle of support for this idea and Elliot had to pull her lips together to keep a straight face; she would _so_ not have been a good spy. "I can_not_ believe it's coming so close!" Sookie piped up, grinning a grin that was almost blinding. "Just how about that; married - me and my fiancé! I _love_ saying that word – in fact sometimes I love it so much I don't even want to get married just so I can keep on calling him it!" She sucked in a quick breath, apparently exhausted by the onslaught of words she'd just come out with, and Elliot's smile became very fixed and forced because the blonde apparently didn't do so hot under pressure. Not that Elliot did either, but Elliot was keeping very quiet. Sookie most definitely was _not. _"But we're going to," she continued, still grinning away. It was a wonder her jaw hadn't started to bruise. "Get married, that is. Which is why we're looking for a church!"

After a very slight pause where she seemed to try and catch up with the woman who somehow had even more energy than herself, Sarah relaxed a little. "Well excellent, and I'm pleased to meet you too, Rufus," she directed at Hugo, who hadn't yet had a chance to say a thing. He nodded stiffly at her, a small smile over his mouth.

"Well it's an honour," he assured her. Sarah waved that off and turned on her heel, gesturing them onwards so they could meet her husband and Elliot walked along a step behind her as the two blonde women gushed over _the _Steve Newlin for a moment.

"You should probably tone it down a bit," Elliot muttered at Sookie, shooting her a look as Sarah strode happily ahead.

"I thought you were gonna let me do the talking," Hugo tacked onto the end, frowning at his pretend fiancée, one hand draping awkwardly over her shoulder to keep up their pretence.

"When I get nervous, sometimes I talk too much," Sookie confided, biting her lip.

"No, _really_?" Elliot quipped, but she couldn't find it in herself to be too mad because Sookie played the part of gushing, yellow-wearing woman incredibly well; hell it might even help them. Though the blonde did seem to have a slight tendency to babble, which Elliot hoped didn't land them in the sort of shit that seemed to follow them around like a particularly ugly puppy.

Sookie glanced at her and then at Sarah's back. "Just...prod me if I'm going overboard," she muttered nervously, all cheeriness vanished in an instant now that they weren't under scrutiny.

"Sure," Elliot agreed, hurrying a little to catch up with Sarah and her ridiculously long strides – honestly, didn't she realise that some people weren't _used_ to wearing skirts? "I mean, I'm sure they won't notice when I just randomly start poking you while you're gushing with Steve about how shiny his shoes are."

Hugo gave a slight frown. "Just...focus on the task at hand," he murmured to both of them and Elliot gave a short nod; they were here for a reason, after all. And Godric better be damned worth the discomfort of a horrible skirt and the company of religious zealots or Eric was going to have a very pissed roommate to deal with.

The inside of the massive church was a lot cooler and Elliot's mood lifted considerably once she was out of the heat. She loved the sun, usually – it had a cheering effect that few things could achieve, but being under the sun in a horrible skirt and an itchy skirt wasn't Elliot's idea of fun by a long way. Not only was the church cool, but it was a lot _bigger_ than it looked; the three of them were led through a number of different rooms and past hordes of cheerful people, all of whom were more than happy to offer a wave and a pleasant word to brighten up the morning. If Elliot hadn't been so ruffled because of her outfit and tense because of Godric the whole friendliness thing might have put a real smile on her face. As it was, she kept her eyes suspiciously downwards and trailed along behind Mrs Newlin like a kid on the way to the principal's office.

Steve Newlin, she discovered once they'd finally gotten to his office, was just about as slimy in real life as he was on television, and that was not a good thing. Elliot's gaze went once up and once down and she had to force a smile in place as they were all introduced. He was charming as hell, said all the right things, smiled at all the right times – but there was something _off_ about him, about the way he felt. Something that somehow jarred Elliot the same way Michael used to sometimes, even _before_. Something she couldn't name or fathom, something that was just _there_. A small disquiet that she had once ignored and paid the price for doing so. Elliot was not going to do it again.

She shook his hand when it was offered and pulled up a seat, leaning forwards as though she was hanging on his every word but in reality Elliot was itching to get away and have a look at the place. That, however, wasn't why she was here. She was here so nothing bad happened to Sookie, and Sookie was here to listen. Stealing away and poking about was definitely not a good idea, but that didn't lessen Elliot's frustration at the idea of sitting doing nothing just in _case_ something happened. She just had to sit tight and hope that the waitress did something useful, something that would help find Godric, something that would free him, while Elliot sat doing _nothing_, relying on others to do what she could not.

She hadn't expected such a thing to be so hard. But it was; _knowing_ that there was a vampire trapped somewhere, probably because of these people, and yet having to smile along and pretend she was overjoyed to be here was something akin to hellish.

Even Sookie was beginning to grate on Elliot's nerves; she was saying all the right things as well and, while Elliot _knew_ the blonde was lying through her teeth, it was hard to hear. Why the hell people thought they had a right to dictate other peoples' lives, to have a say in what they did and how they did it was beyond her. It made her furiously angry that there was a man sitting _right_ across from her, going on about how God detested vampires when in fact they were _nothing_ to do with him.

"_Ow_!" Steve gave a slight gasp, dropping the paperclip he'd reached to fiddle with as he frowned at it.

"Is everything okay?" Hugo asked, confused, but Sookie was looking knowingly sideways at Elliot, who was frozen in her seat. Steve laughed.

"Electric shock," he waved their concern away.

Elliot made herself look as sympathetic as she could. "Must be the heat." She couldn't look the Reverend in the eye, and instead kept her focus on the frankly hideous painting of Jesus sitting behind him as Hugo confided that they were looking to find a new home with this church. Steve himself had moved his own gaze out the window as Sarah prattled on about the sanctity of the church and its pastors while Elliot arched her eyebrow at Jesus. He didn't react.

"I don't care what everyone says about vampires being able to control themselves; I know better," Sookie was saying, jerking Elliot's thoughts back towards the desk and those around it. The blonde's smile was tight, her eyes dark, but she seemed cheerful enough to fool the couple before them. "I know that every single one of them is a vicious, blood thirsty killer," she finished venomously, and Elliot's fists clenched on her knees.

"That they are," Steve agreed at once, nodding almost thoughtfully. "That they are."

Sarah beamed. "I think you three will be _very_ happy here," she informed them all with a light clap of their hands. "Would would y'all say to a tour?"

There was a pause and then – "We'd love a tour," Sookie assured them, getting to her feet. Elliot rose swiftly, her heart beating erratically though she couldn't say why. Sookie's expression was more drawn than it had been when they'd walked in and as Steve and Sarah led the way out of the office the blonde raised her eyes slightly at Elliot. She understood; _Godric was here_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Woohoo a quick update! I'm sorry this chapter is so short – I was going to cover a lot more in this one but then it just felt nice to end it there, and get into the real good, meaty stuff next chapter (which will hopefully be up this weekend). <strong>

**There are apparently bunches of songs by bunches of people with the title 'Lion's Den'; Bruce Springsteen, Sam Adams, Dry The River, Eve 6, The Robert Cray Band, Guardian – I've honestly never ever heard any of them, I just googled it because the phrase seemed fitting so...I sorta cheated. Shoot me. (Except don't 'cause...that'd suck. For me.)**

**Let me know what you thought? Elliot's not so great at the whole espionage thing, turns out, but she apparently found a few of her more sassy bones this chapter, which is nice for her. Maybe she's finally moving on, eh? (Yep, I kind of spend a long time wondering about and analysing my characters, largely because my life is boring and I have little better to do with my time, other than y'know, work or whatever). Also I talk a lot and I won't shut up if I really start going so I will end this incredibly pointless note now.**

**...**

**Okay, now.**

**No – really...now.**

**Review?**

**Alright, really this time. **


	27. From Bad To Worse

Elliot once again found herself following Sarah Newlin's yellow back as they all trooped out of Steve's office to begin a tour of the church. Sookie was tense but she soldiered on with the cheerful babbling, Hugo interjecting every now and then. Elliot remained as silent as she could, speaking when necessary, a huge and fake smile plastered over her mouth. She kept staring around at the church, hoping they'd assume she was just awed by the place and that was why she was so quiet, but inside her stomach felt like a nest of rats was trying to eat their way out.

Knowing that Godric was here, that these people were almost certainly responsible for him being here, knowing that they were probably planning on killing him – it made Elliot sick to her core, and yet here she was being given a tour of their damn church and smiling about it. With every step they took she had to fight the bone-deep feeling telling her to get the hell out of there, to run and run and run – to get as far away from these people as possible.

She denied the instinct, walking further and further into the twists of corridors, ooh-ing and aah-ing at the rooms they were showed, laughing along when Sarah made a joke and looking appropriately pleased whenever Steve turned around to tell them some titbit or other. But there was still something lurking inside him, something that screamed at Elliot that she _needed_ to flee, to get Eric and Bill and Stan and Isabel – they would free Godric, tonight after nightfall. Once she, Sookie and Hugo were safe, once the feeling that told her to get the hell away had gone, once she'd assured herself that they were going to be alright.

But she couldn't do that, because turning and running would as good as tell them flat out that they were onto the church and their crimes. So she stuck it out, keeping pace with them and trying to fight back the feeling so strong it felt like it was bile in the back of her throat.

"You're gonna just _love_ what's coming up in a moment," Sarah assured them, turning to address the three over her shoulder, looking about as light as the sun. "The absolute _heart_ of our church, the _perfect_ place to get married." Elliot perked up a little at the words, because while Sarah had been enthusiastic about the rest of the tour she was positively brimming with happiness talking about their next stop and the brunette wondered if she was going to finally see something here that was actually worth seeing.

Steve excused himself as his cell rang and Sarah shot him a look, giving Elliot a chance to glace at Sookie. She looked worried, about as tense and drawn as Elliot felt and the latter shot the blonde a quick smile, meant to be reassuring but she doubted it really was – she could tell that Sookie knew a lot more than she could let on here and that, coupled with the almost overwhelming urge to flee, made Elliot feel worse than ever.

"See you soon," Steve promised down the phone, his smile almost a smirk as he hung up and came to a halt before a huge set of double doors. Both Newlins turned back to their visitors with identical expressions of near bliss on their faces and Steve raised his hands. "Careful now," he warned them, looking very directly between the three.

Hugo came to a very sudden, wary stop. "Careful?" he questioned, exchanging a worried look with Sookie. "About what?"

Steve leant forwards as though he was about to impart a great secret and his face split into his biggest grin yet. "Sometimes," he told them, voice slightly hushed, "when we open these doors, _so_ much love comes flowing out that it'll _knock_ you down if you're not ready for it!"

Elliot refrained, just, from rolling her eyes. How could a kidnapper be so _cheesy_? There was no denying that she was relieved, though; for a second after his warning she'd worried that they'd gotten Godric locked up behind the doors somewhere and were about to be presented to him.

"We'll be sure to brace ourselves," Sookie giggled, managing to look overjoyed by the very idea of it. Working as a waitress who heard all sorts of crap day in, day out had turned her into one hell of an actress. Steve grinned, quirking his eyebrows at his wife before they pulled the doors open together. Elliot flinched.

She wasn't so sure about love but the amount of _light _that came pouring out damn near knocked her down. Sookie let out a small (and, Elliot suspected, genuine) gasp of delight as they stepped inside.

"Oh my gosh," she murmured, walking forwards and looking around with wide eyes. Elliot couldn't deny that the room was beautiful; she dreaded to think of how much it had cost to build but there was a somehow comforting glow about the place and she thought that if she'd been here alone she'd have quite happily been able to sit for hours just to _think_. There was an air of peace in the room that seemed to settle over her shoulders like a thick blanket – even the worry about Godric seemed to lessen a fraction as she wandered up the aisle with the others.

"Yes sir_ee_ – _this_ is where we're getting married," Hugo said certainly, spinning a quick circle as he took the place in before he stopped in front of Sookie. "I can't _wait_ to see you walk down this aisle."

Sookie's facade dropped for a split second and she looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights before she made herself smile at her pretend husband-to-be. "Me either," she assured him, and Elliot was fairly certain she'd been the only one to catch the slight slip. Watching now, she noticed that Sookie definitely seemed uncomfortable and she moved marginally closer to the telepath, muscles tensing as the worry all came crashing back for no real reason.

"Hey!" Steve's voice cut through the air and everyone turned to look at him. "Have any of you ever been to a lock-in?" He spun to look at them, all smiles, but Sookie appeared to fumble for a second and Elliot was sure she could hear something the way none of the rest of them could.

"A...a lock-in?" she repeated, frowning slightly.

"Oooh yeah it's loads of fun, everybody brings their sleeping bags..." Elliot lost the thread of what he was saying, her eyes on Sookie as the blonde's smile faltered noticeably for a moment. Sarah was staring at her husband when his arm snaked around her and he bound her to his side, Elliot's eyes snapping towards the woman because she recognised that action all too well – it was what Michael used to do when he wanted to lay down that what he said was law in a casual sort of way. Sarah didn't look scared, though – just worried, and even then Elliot wasn't sure that she wasn't reading too much into things.

"That lock-in does sound like fun," Sookie breathed, turning to her companions and pulling another falsely cheery smile onto her face. "Rufus, Ella – we gotta go home and get our sleeping bags now," she said pointedly. Hugo looked confused.

"But honey the tour's not even over yet," he said and Elliot wanted to kick him.

"I know, honey, but I think we _really_ oughta go so we can come back for the lockdown," Sookie told him in a rush and now Elliot was sure she wasn't the only one who could see the holes in the act because there was no denying that the blonde looked on edge right now. She was talking too fast, her eyes were too bright and she kept moving subtly towards the exit. Elliot looked between the lot of them, her heart hammering as, for the first time, she wondered if this wasn't just not a great idea but an actively _awful_ one.

"There'll be plenty of time to get ready," Steve interrupted fluidly. "The lock-_in_ is not until tomorrow night," he told them brightly. Sookie shot Elliot an '_oh shit_' look before she forced a smile onto her face.

"Excellent," Elliot said weakly, before a shadow dragged her attention away from her friend and her stomach dropped out as she caught sight of the huge man walking towards them.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked Steve. He had the same sort of hard eyes that alcohol gave Michael, rock solid muscles and a shaved head. He scared Elliot just on sight and she took an automatic step backwards before internally berating herself for being so damn obvious.

"Oh, yes – Holly, Ella, Rufus – I'd like you to meet an aide of mine," Steve said, reaching an arm back to clap the guy on the shoulder. "This is Gabe." Sarah was shooting 'Gabe' the same wary look that Elliot was and Hugo stepped up, offering his hand.

"Pleased to meet you." Gabe shook, staring him down before his gaze moved onto Sookie as she spoke up with a quick 'Hi'. Elliot just smiled, suddenly not trusting herself to speak.

"Gabe's gonna be joining us for the rest of the tour," Steve informed them. Sookie's lips twitched and Elliot swallowed. _Shit shit shit_. Steve grinned and turned his heel, leading them on in silence. Sarah fell into step beside him and Gabe gestured at Elliot and the others to follow before he brought up the rear, effectively hemming them in.

If she'd thought Steve made her want to run – he was a fucking _joke_ compared to Gabe, who scared Elliot more than she cared to admit to herself. It was the same sort of fear Michael had inspired, though not to the same extent. It was the fear of a man who she just _knew_ would strike without reason, would who would strike to hurt and wouldn't give a damn who was on the receiving end of it. Suddenly, she found herself wishing for Eric. Eric was, somehow, comfortable – he was somehow _safe_, despite being the most dangerous creature of the lot. Elliot _knew_ by now that he wouldn't hurt her – even just his presence had driven her nightmares away since they'd been staying at the hotel, and she wanted him. She wanted to be out of here, away from these people and with Eric, just Eric. No Godric to worry about, no church, no plot, no Stan – just _them_.

But that was impossible – Eric was miles away with no idea what was going on inside the church. In fact, Eric was miles away, trusting that Elliot could handle this shit because _she_ had convinced him she could.

"Now I'd like to take y'all to see a very special part of the church," Steve was saying as they trooped across an entrance hall of some kind.

"There's more?" Elliot had asked before she could help herself, hoping she sounded nothing more than pleased by the prospect.

"Yes, my father's tomb," Steve told her, pointing ahead as he continued walking, striding ahead of them all. "It's on the lower level."

Elliot stopped dead. This was a very, very, very bad idea. She didn't know how she knew but she _did_ and she was pretty sure Sookie did too because the blonde had gone suddenly very pale. Even Hugo, who'd held up extremely well for the entire tour, was looking uncertain. "Honey are you sure?" Sarah asked in a strained, high voice. Elliot's heart was battering against her ribs and she turned to look at Sookie as Sarah hurried past them. "_Steve_. I just...I don't see why we need to take them down there."

They all stopped outside a door and Steve turned to face them, clasping his hands together. Gabe came up and stood right in the doorway, his shoulders near enough brushing each side of the frame. "I can literally feel the presence of his spirit," Steve smiled at them all, his eyes too bright.

"It's okay, we don't need to see it," Elliot said quickly and Sookie nodded in agreement.

"Oh I _insist_ – it's the rock that our church was built on." He started babbling on about something and Elliot clenched her fists, digging her nails in as she fought the urge to be sick. Why the hell was she feeling so out of sorts? Why was she so _nervous_? Steve yanked open the door and stepped back so they could see the steps leading downwards.

Elliot took a small step back and bumped into the solid rock that was Gabe's chest. "Um...Rufus," she said desperately and Hugo moved to peer through the door.

"Aw, what's the matter?" Steve's voice was saccharine but his expression made Elliot want to punch him.

"It's no big deal," Hugo said, looking between Elliot and Sookie before his eyes landed back on the Reverend. "She just has a tiny little case of claustrophobia. We both do, actually – runs in the family." He reached over and gave Elliot a small pat on the back but she remained stiff, staring at Steve Newlin.

"Well at least take a little look-see and that way you can say you saw the whole church and you'll be making an informed decision," Steve wheedled, moving back slightly so the way through the door was entirely clear.

"_Steve_," Sarah interjected, beginning to look slightly panicked.

"It's alright, Sarah – this is something they need to see," her husband insisted and Sarah looked helplessly at the guests. Sookie was looking desperate by now and she took a step closer to Hugo.

"No, really-" Elliot began before Sookie opened her mouth.

"But we've _already _decided that we're going to get married here, so how about we go back to our apartment, we'll look at a calendar and we'll call you on the phone to save a date," she suggested, reaching for Hugo's hand and starting to back away. For a split second Elliot thought – hoped – that it really would be as easy as that.

"No." The word fell flat on the air, Steve moving more quickly that Elliot would have thought possible for him. "GABE!"

Hands grabbed Elliot and she gasped, flinging herself to the side to try and get away as Sookie screeched. Steve had come forwards and he was wrestling with Sookie as Gabe shoved from behind and Elliot yelled as someone hit her ribs, her terror escaping her with a bang and somebody else's yell of pain but there were too many arms flailing, feet in the way, voices yelling, bodies pushing – before Elliot knew it she'd been shunted along, stumbling even as she threw her hands out and another bang erupted, shaking the staircase they were on and Gabe fell, his weight pushing against them.

He collided with Sookie, whose instinct was to grab onto whatever was nearest – which happened to be Elliot. "NO!" Elliot yelled but she'd already lost her balance, the ceiling swinging above her as she cleared the top of the stairs and landed painfully, tumbling down with a shout of fury and pain, Sookie staggering behind her. The blonde was still on her feet, Gabe's hand around her shoulder as he dragged her downwards, his weight the only thing that had stopped her from joining Elliot in the fall.

Gabe was swearing and Elliot could hear Hugo yelling as Steve yanked him along, pushing and shoving and dragging until, battered and bruised, they were all five of them at the bottom. Elliot kicked out, still splayed at the bottom of the stairs and dazed, as somebody came near and she heard Gabe give a hiss of laughter even as Sarah screamed that she was sorry from the top of the stairs.

"HELP US!" Elliot bellowed up at her but a massive hand was over her mouth and rough hands had hauled her upright, dragging her backwards even as she kicked and squirmed, fighting to use the power that had exploded from her upstairs but it felt dormant, hidden away with a whisper of '_Michael_' until Sookie screamed again and Elliot's rage erupted.

Gabe was thrown backwards by a surge of raw power; he hit the wall with a painful sounding thump and for a second Elliot was elated, turning to try and find Sookie but already everything was slowing down and her legs refused to move. "Sookie!" she called out, but the blonde's screams had faded somehow and the world was starting to spin.

Elliot staggered forwards a step, breathing in quickly and trying to hold it but already Gabe had righted himself, grabbing her once again. He delivered a quick punch to the jaw for her efforts in throwing him off and before Elliot could so much as try and bite him she'd been tossed bodily into a room, the door slamming shut behind her with a horrible finality while her ears rang with the sound of his laughter.

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><p><strong>AN: First up, many thanks to <strong>**screamo-danna-666 for being the sole reviewer of the last chapter! Much love and cookies for you.**

**So! Finally, something happened! Sort of – we're very much on the cusp of **_**all**_** the things happening and the next few chapters are going to be very action packed, I do believe – Godric will be here so very soon, I can almost taste his closeness! (Just so you guys know I have a weird amount of love for Godric...not sure how/if that'll come across in the chapters but...fair warning.)**

**Once again I cheated with the title because it's not from a song I actually know, but it is from a song. The phrase just fit too much for me to not use it, and it's from a song by 'Cut The Shit', apparently, which seems nicely fitting. **

**Anyway – once again I'm talking too much; I'll stop soon. I just wanted to say thank you for reading up until this point – the next few chapters will probably be uploaded quite quickly because I'm so excited to write them; I love love **_**love**_** these episodes! If you have time, I'd love it if you could read a review as tomorrow is Monday, which is always somewhat depressing (though Avengers is FINALLY being released here so it won't be so bad), and they genuinely get me through the day sometimes when things really go south. Thank you for reading! **


	28. Got Nowhere To Run

_got nowhere to run_

_life goes on_

* * *

><p>Elliot clambered slowly to her feet, rubbing at her tender jaw and wincing as Sookie began yelling for Godric. Dark eyes cast about, roaming over the boxes and shelves stacked with general crap, the cage-like mesh that surrounded them – they were in some kind of supply area of the basement. It wasn't exactly Alcatraz but it also didn't look that easy to break out of.<p>

"Well," she said once she'd looked at everything on offer. "This is cosy." Elliot's fingers wrapped into the mesh and she gave it a brief tug before asserting for herself that it was definitely too strong for them to be able to smash through; maybe if she'd had control of her power it would be have been work but the energy inside her had dwindled, dying back as a dull ache inside her bones – they were on their own now.

"GODRIC!" Sookie yelled again and Elliot swung around to stare at her.

"If he hasn't answered yet I don't think he's going to," she told the blonde, seating herself carefully on a box and massaging her temples. "Jesus _Christ_ my head hurts. That fuckwit _punched_ me." And then he'd locked them up in a room to await God knew what. For all Elliot knew they were going to be left to rot down here. She scowled at the stone floor. "This is why I never trust crazy, psychotic religious zealots who kidnap vampires."

"You remember how I said I was claustrophobic?" Hugo spoke up suddenly, pushing away from the mesh he'd been leaning on to pace the few strides it took to cross the room. He was pale, his skin shining with a sheen of sweat. "I wasn't making that part up – it's _bad_. I can't take elevators, walk-in closets, you know in hotels when they tuck the sheets in all tight? Just _thinking_ about that makes me want to scream," he spoke, all in a rush as he yanked on his tie, already struggling to breathe as he panicked.

Elliot stared at him. "You need to calm down," she said lowly, before her attention was caught by Sookie. The waitress had found a stack of board games and was pulling them off a shelf, holding each one up for attention; they were all vampire-killing games and, frankly, creepy. The blonde looked disgusted.

"It's so sick teaching kids to hate like this," she muttered, scowling at the bright box of 'Send Them Back To Hell'.

"I bet sleepovers with the Newlins are a right blast though," Elliot said dryly, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes in an attempt to stop the pounding at the back of her skull; it was beginning to get worse as the worry set in, despite her casual tone.

"I don't have time for _games_ right now, I need to get out of here," Hugo snapped, his jaw clenched. Elliot opened her eyes to look at him, frowning slightly and shifting uncomfortably. She felt sorry for the guy, really she did, but he looked like he had only a slim grasp on control right now and Elliot _really_ didn't like being near people who were out of control, including herself.

Sookie didn't seem to share this reluctance as she took a step closer, abandoning the games. "Take a deep breath," she coached, and Elliot found herself following the instructions though they weren't meant for her. She took a pause to suck in air and hold it, closing her eyes once again. "Look at me," Sookie continued in the same gentle but commanding tone. "It's gonna be okay; we're gonna figure this out, alright?"

Hugo began gulping air in and out and Elliot heard a muffled thump as he half-fell, half-sat on an upturned box. "Okay," he muttered to himself. "Okay, okay, I'm okay." It was a mantra Elliot had often chanted under her own breath and she opened her eyes once more to look at the poor guy. He needn't even have been here and now all three of them were trapped.

"So the Newlins knew who we were the minute we walked in," Sookie surmised, crossing her arms once she'd assured herself that Hugo was doing okay. "Same way they knew to come after us at the airport." There was a pause before the blonde voiced what they'd known since they arrived but seemed incredibly, painfully obvious right now. "Someone at that nest's a traitor."

"You think maybe a vampire's siding with the Fellowship?" Elliot asked, looking between the two. Hugo gave a slow, thoughtful nod, appearing to grasp at the deductions to distract himself from the closeness of the walls.

"You mean Stan?" Sookie questioned with a slight frown.

"Maybe, to get Godric out of the way," Hugo said.

"'Cause he wants to be Sheriff?" the blonde said, clearly not quite believing the theory. "I've heard of ambitious but that's just plain crazy."

"This is _Stan_ we're talking about," Elliot pointed out.

Hugo nodded again. "You've met him – I mean, he would rip our throats out for looking at him sideways."

"If this is true Bill and Eric will do a _lot_ worse to him when they find out," Sookie said, her tone underwritten by a quiet sort of rage as her eyes flashed towards Elliot. But then her expression grew more distant and she turned to look out of the cage, frowning slightly. "Bill _had_ to have sensed my fear," she told them, voice wavering slightly. "He's gonna come storming through this church any second."

"And you don't seem happy about that because...?" Hugo asked, and Elliot had to agree with him there, even as his eyebrows descended and he began wringing his hands together. She clenched her fists; his nerves were making her more nervous than she already was and it was really not helping her headache in the slightest.

She and Bill had never had any real interaction so Elliot couldn't exactly count him as a friend but if he wanted to come storming in to rescue Sookie and them she was _more _than okay with that. Sookie wandered closer to the mesh, wringing her own fingers into her necklace. "These fanatics are about to barbeque a two thousand year old vampire in front of an entire congregation - who knows what else they're capable of?"

"Wait – _what_?" Elliot repeated, horror-struck as she leapt to her feet. "They're going to do _what_ to him? Oh my – holy _shit_ we have to get him the fuck out of here!"

Sookie was staring at her in some surprise but she didn't say anything, merely set her jaw in a grim line of determination. Elliot was still reeling; maybe she was thick for not realising but when Eric had said he thought they wanted to kill Godric she'd thought they were going to stake him or something – the idea of a public execution made her skin crawl. "There _has_ to be something in here we can use," Elliot said, grabbing the nearest box and yanking it open to find rolls and rolls of toilet paper. She kicked it aside with a growl as Sookie turned to look inside another one and wrapped her fingers viciously into the mesh. Maybe if she could get angry enough and somehow channel her power, despite having no real idea how, they could break free?

She sucked in a breath, focusing hard enough to make her entire body hurt but nothing happened except the indentation of the metal into her skin. Elliot kicked against the mesh in furious frustration, running her fingers into her hair and pulling as she expelled her breath in another growl. "For fuck _sake_ there has to be _something_. _Why_ am I so _fucking_ useless?" She scuffed Sookie's borrowed pump against the mesh again before sitting heavily on the box.

"You're not," Sookie said lowly, glaring at her with an unexpected anger on her face. Elliot merely shook her head.

"I am when it matters," she sighed, closing her eyes and burying her head in her hands. _What the hell were they supposed to do now_? "What good was throwing that jackass off when we're all in here anyway?" Elliot muttered, mostly to herself. She'd have been better off conserving her strength, but she hadn't exactly realised she'd need it. Nor was it the sort of thing she knew well enough to be able to figure out where her limits were – mostly it just _happened_, whether Elliot wanted it to or not. But even if she wasn't feeling drained and exhausted, she had no idea how to break through mesh with her incredibly patchy control over her curse anyway.

Sookie's expression was grim but sympathetic and she turned away to open another box. "Marker pens," she announced flatly. Fat lot of good they would do.

"Well," Elliot said, using what little she could scrape together of some sort of optimism. "I guess we could all sniff the things and get high – maybe then the end wouldn't be so bad."

The blonde's laugh was very light and horribly strained but it made Elliot feel the tiniest bit better regardless. She sank onto the hard floor and braced her back against the box she'd been sitting on, her gaze sweeping over Hugo. He was drifting off, it looked like. Elliot was quite relieved; at least if he was asleep he wouldn't be able to panic them into seven hells.

Head pounding, bones aching, Elliot allowed her own head to drop back onto the top of the box, her focus drifting in and out so the harsh artificial lighting above swam in hazes of white and yellow before her eyes slid shut and she was gone, trusting that sometime – soon – Eric and Bill and all the force they could muster would be banging down the doors to free them all.

* * *

><p>Eric Northman was actually doing no such thing. He was stood on a hill, overlooking the Fellowship's church with an air of utter disdain, Isabel by his side. His lips had curled with savage mirth at seeing the idiots and what they apparently thought was a formidable force; he'd seen better organised men staggering drunkenly from Fangtasia.<p>

"You have got to be _joking_ me," he murmured as the two gazed at the buildings and the humans patrolling between them. "_This_ is the Fellowship of the Sun? That's their..._army_? Scared little boys with Bibles and crossbows." His voice was laced with derision to cover his worry for Elliot, for Sookie. They had been in there longer than expected but with idiots like this guarding the place he was somewhat relieved; Elliot could take care of herself, and Sookie was no pushover. Hugo...he had no idea what Isabel's human was like, but he'd looked innocuous enough that he at least shouldn't have landed them in any trouble. That was, at least, what he was convincing himself.

"Don't underestimate them," Isabel told him, her eyes also fixed on the buildings, tracing the movements of the humans as they walked through the campus. Eric was only half-listening to her as he refocused his attention on the church; he wanted just to see Elliot or Sookie, to be _sure_ that he could leave without taking action, but so far he'd not been able to catch any sight of either of them. "Their leadership camps are overflowing with self-righteous extremists, all willing and ready to die for their cause."

Eric's eyebrows knitted together for a second. _If they'd hurt Godric or Elliot..._ "That can be arranged _quite_ easily."

"_Not_ until we know for sure the Fellowship has Godric," Isobel impressed upon him, not taking her eyes off the church.

Whether they had Godric or not, Elliot was in there with Sookie and Eric would much rather they _weren't_ – enough so that, while he wasn't yet _afraid _for their safety, he'd have been more than willing to walk right in there and get them out himself. Surely by now they'd have found out _something_ useful? None of them had called, however – there was absolutely nothing from them at all. Tempting as it was to storm in there with all the fury of the warrior he had once been, Eric instead practiced a thousand years worth of patience.

"What about your boy?" he asked Isobel. "Hugo." He neglected to mention the humans whose fates he was actually concerned about; Eric wasn't one to allow anyone to see any weakness to him, and they'd already seen quite enough after Elliot had followed him outside at Godric's nest. They'd seen enough to know that she _mattered_ and that wasn't supposed to happen. "They've been in there too long."

Isabel was silent for a moment. "There's no sign of alarm," she said, sounding as though she was trying to convince herself that that actually meant something good. "And if Hugo were in serious danger I would know it. I felt something earlier but...it passed - he's okay now."

Eric froze at that; he hadn't been aware that Isabel had felt anything at all and he didn't give two shits about whether it had _passed_ or not – if it was there once it could be there _again_. A thrill of anger rode swiftly through him because this wouldn't have been a problem if Elliot had had his blood but _no_. No he was utterly without any indication of what was going on and it infuriated him more than he cared to admit. Thoughts beginning to drift, Eric's lips moved without any real conscious thought other than the fact that he wanted Isabel to keep talking about herself and her human so his own thoughts could remain private and unnoticed.

"Tell me, what is it that you find so fulfilling about human companionship?" But he didn't need to ask because already he knew. There was just _something_ – something unnameable that humans had and vampires did not, something that Eric could feel regardless. Something about the way her eyes lit up when she laughed, the way they narrowed when she was angry. The way her blood ran hot and her heart thumped when he smirked, the way she'd kissed him, the way her fingers felt wrapped in his.

He could never have explained it because Eric didn't know what it was – all he knew was that he wasn't ready to lose it.

* * *

><p>For hours Elliot drifted in and out of sleep, the only sounds in the basement now Hugo and Sookie's soft, deep breathing in the air. They were both sleeping soundly, the blonde curled up next to a box and Hugo leant up against a wall, his head drooping onto his chest. When Elliot was able to sleep her head fell back onto the box behind her but she didn't sleep for long, gasping herself away every hour or so as more nightmares came for her.<p>

Eventually she just paced silently, glancing at her watch every two minutes as the night slipped away. She was exhausted and aching but for the past few hours she'd not been able to force herself to sleep; the last thing she wanted was to scream herself and the other two awake and face their questions. Her mind felt like it was being wrung from behind, sending a deep throb through every bone in her body, and even as the time drew ever closer to dawn Elliot clung to her hope. Eric would come, he and Bill would come for them and for Godric and this could all be put behind them.

But they never did.

Elliot couldn't see the sun rise but there was no denying the relentless ticking of the clock as it passed the hours, marching them further and further into tomorrow and leaving their hope far behind. Eventually, the hope died and left in its place a hollowness that had Elliot simply sitting and staring at the mesh, understanding, finally, that this might actually be it. _It_. The End. She'd never thought it would be like this.

"Elliot?" Sookie murmured as she stirred herself back into reality, wincing as her muscles complained at the awful position she'd slept in, but Elliot's attention was on the stairs they'd all come down. There were voices above them, doors opening – someone was coming. Empty stomach clenching tight with feat, Elliot got to her feet and folded her arms; she may have felt like shit but there was no way she was letting these assholes know it.

"Morning!" Steve Newlin called out cheerfully as he practically skipped down the stairs and came to stand in front of the mesh that kept them all away from the world. Elliot glared at him and Hugo's head jerked upwards at the noise while Sookie's eyes narrowed, tired but aware. She was on her feet in a moment, brushing shoulders with Elliot as the two watched the Reverend with nothing but pure hatred across their faces. "Refreshments?"

He was holding up a bottle of water and a bag of something that he slipped under the mesh. "How did y'all sleep?" Elliot ignored him, her eyes on Gabe. He had a nasty smile across his lips and her jaw ached more fiercely just at the memory of his fist from last night. She closed her eyes at once, focusing herself before her thoughts could jump from Gabe to Michael, and she opened them to glare once again at Newlin.

Sookie was squaring up to him from behind the metal while Hugo scooped up the water and took a much needed swig. "They're coming for us, you know," Sookie announced certainly, ignoring the question.

Steve straightened. "Yeah, well, that's what I thought," he admitted, grinning in a way that made him look more smug than ever. His eyes flickered from Sookie to Elliot and back again. "Figured pretty girls like you'd have vamps running off to the rescue – actually we were kinda hoping for it, weren't we Gabe?"

"Yessir, bring it on," Gabe said in little more than a grunt, his nasty smile never wavering. Elliot's gut clenched again; for all she'd been wishing that Eric would come storming in with Bill and the others on his heels – what if the Fellowship _was_ ready for them? What if they were all caught and burned as Godric was doomed to be? The thought made her feel sick, her empty stomach roiling inside her.

"We're waiting for them – we've been ready for a long time," Newlin continued, crossing his arms over his skinny chest and looking altogether too pleased with himself.

"You're gonna get yourself _killed_," Sookie snapped at him, which in Elliot's opinion was advice they needn't give. "That's not a threat it's a _fact_."

Steve's expression became one of almost twisted sympathy and Elliot turned away, swallowing hard as her stomach protested her thoughts and their situation all over again. Hugo wordlessly handed her the water bottle and Elliot accepted it with a nod of thanks, taking a long sip. It helped – a little. She turned as a chair moved behind her, watching as Newlin sat himself.

"Now," he began. "Things got a little out of hand last night." His eyes lingered on the bruising over Elliot's lower jaw, the fingerprints about Sookie's wrist where she'd been grabbed. "And I apologise for that. I'm not the monster that the vampire-loving media makes me out to be."

Elliot couldn't help the snort that escaped her. "Yeah fucking _right_," she snarled.

"All I want from you is a couple of answers and then I'll be happy to feed you a nice, hot breakfast and send you on your way," Steve said, ignoring Elliot's words as though she hadn't said a thing. Elliot was about to tell him to go fuck himself when Hugo spoke up.

"What do you wanna know?" he asked, resigned. Both Sookie and Elliot swung around to face him.

"Shut _up_," Elliot hissed, fists clenching, but Hugo was on his feet.

"We need to get out of here – just tell them what they want to know." He pulled in a breath and then everything came tumbling out. "That's Sookie Stackhouse and Elliot Sanderson, I'm Hugo Ayers-"

"Hugo, no!" Sookie gasped just as Elliot rounded on him and said, "Shut the _fuck_ up." He heeded neither of them.

"-we were sent here by the vampires of Area Nine to find their Sheriff." As he finished Elliot lunged for him but Sookie, who had somehow anticipated the movement, grabbed the back of her shirt and stayed her until Steve spoke again and had both women whipping around at his sudden change in tone.

"From Bon Temps?" Newlin was frowning and Elliot was sufficiently distracted.

"How do you know where we're from?" Sookie demanded, looking worried now.

"You're Jason Stackhouse's...sister," Steve said, staring at Sookie and looking somehow pained. Elliot's stomach dropped out and Sookie stepped closer to the mesh. "Am I right?"

Sookie's eyes were wide. "You know Jason? He's got _nothing_ to do with this." And just like that her composure was gone; even Elliot was a little shaken because Jason couldn't be dragged into this – not Jason, who laughed too loudly and slung his arm casually around Elliot's shoulders no matter how many times she glared at him. Jason, who was always willing to lend a hand, Jason who was Sookie's well-meaning brother and had probably never harmed a soul in his life.

Steve sucked in a breath, his expression the same carefully controlled nothing that Elliot herself employed whenever she was trying to hide something that made her want to snap. "C'mon Gabe," he said stiffly, getting to his feet. Sookie shrieked after them as they walked out but Elliot turned to Hugo with burning eyes, her fists aching they were clenched so hard but hitting him, hurting him – it would achieve nothing.

"Well _fucking_ done you _jackass_!" she cried at him instead, pushing her fingers roughly into her hair and letting forth a string of curses that would have made a sailor proud.

"Hey, we sat down here _all_ night waiting for your _boyfriend_ to show up," Hugo retorted defensively. "You can go on playing damsel in distress all you want but, one way or another; I'm getting us out of here."

Elliot glared at him.

"Hugo, do me a favour, please - just shut the fuck up," Sookie sighed, sitting down and staring outside the mesh. Elliot was impressed; coming from Sookie, she couldn't really top that. Instead, she turned to Hugo.

"He's not my boyfriend." It sounded lame, petulant, but Elliot couldn't let it go unsaid. Besides which, his words had stung and she was sure they'd stung Sookie as well – whatever Eric was to her, she'd been depending on him to help her when she got in shit because of his damn excursion to Dallas but he hadn't. For all she knew he was back in Shreveport having given up on them, and she felt horribly, stupidly, _hurt_ by the fact – she _shouldn't_ have expected Eric to come for her; he was a thousand year old vampire, she didn't _matter_ to him yet every time she convinced herself of that, she found herself wondering – _hoping_ – that she did. And that should have been her cue to get the hell away from him but it was too late now; she _couldn't_ get away from him because she no longer _wanted_ to. Because even though he was a vampire and she was a mortal, even though he was aloof and she was broken, even though he smirked and she scowled – something about him made her think that maybe she shouldn't run anymore, something made her think maybe she didn't _have _to. Eric had held onto her while she slept and she'd not woken once from a nightmare; he'd known what she'd needed even when she hadn't.

But now she _did_ need him and he'd not showed up and it _hurt_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this chapter ended earlier in the sequence of events than I'd have liked but it was getting really long – more happened in this episode than I realised and I've cut quite a lot out but it was still too long to justify ploughing through to Godric, no matter how much I want to.<strong>

**Title is from the song 'Untitled' by Simple Plan. **

**Thanks, as always, for reading – I love you guys, you're what keeps me posting this and I'm still having so much fun writing it so it's always such an amazing thing for me to see people reading and reviewing – I honestly can't thank you all enough.**


	29. Get Out Alive

_if you want to get out alive_

_hold on for your life_

* * *

><p>Elliot couldn't have even hedged a guess at the time passing; her rage at Hugo for spilling their purpose in being there had diminished to a vague irritation at him once it became clear that Newlin and his gorilla buddy weren't coming back – apparently they were more interested in Jason than the three of them right now.<p>

For a while she and Sookie had traded ideas as to how in hell Newlin could know the other Stackhouse but both had come up blank; Jason was sweet-natured, his biggest crime not calling girls back after one-night-stands, and what connection he could possibly have had with the Reverend was beyond anything either of them could come up with. Elliot's thoughts weren't exactly clear at any rate; she was drifting in and out of sleep as her body protested its exhaustion coupled with the lack of food for what felt like almost an entire day and her train of thought got lost far too easily.

She didn't sleep exactly but every now and then she'd jerk back into real consciousness after realising she'd been close to giving in to it. The want to lie down on the hard floor, curl up and just let go was almost overwhelming but, tired as she was, Elliot was far too proud to let any of them witness her nightmares so she remained bolt upright, fists clenched and eyes too wide in an attempt to keep herself alert.

Hugo was getting more and more wound up with every minute that passed, going from sitting in the corner with his head in his hands to pacing to kicking boxes to shaking at the mesh. He was beginning to really grind against Elliot's nerves because if he would just _sit_ the fuck _down_ they could all be a little more rational about this but apparently _rational_ was not a word he understood.

"HEY!" he bellowed, yanking on the mesh and peering through to the empty room beyond. "Hey I need to use the bathroom! _HEY_! Come on LET ME OUT OF HERE!" He shook again the mesh again, his words tinged with a raw desperation but Elliot only scowled at him.

"They're not coming, save your breath," she snapped, pinching the bridge of her nose and setting her elbows on her knees. Sookie, who had the patience of a saint, stood up and held out the now empty water bottle.

"Here," she said, ignoring Elliot's expression as her head snapped up because seriously, that was _gross_. "We'll turn away," the waitress promised calmly. Elliot was halfway to doing so when Hugo lashed out, sending the bottle to smack against the opposite wall. She flinched so hard the box she'd been sitting on skidded a few inches and Elliot was on her feet, sucking in a deep breath and calming herself because Hugo was just angry, it had just been for a _second_ and he wasn't going to do it again.

Sookie berated him and Elliot quickly grabbed the bottle, stuffing it inside one of the boxes on the shelf because if it _was_ thrown again she might lose it herself. "Just...sit down," Sookie appealed to him and Elliot turned towards them with a frown.

"Seriously – getting pissed off isn't helping anything; I doubt they can even hear us fr-" She cut herself off as Sookie grabbed Hugo's arm and stiffened, her eyes going wide as her jaw slackened. For a long moment she seemed unaware of anything else in the room and Hugo watched her with undisguised alarm before she wrenched away, horror and fury warring across her features.

Hugo pulled away from her himself, looking stricken, but Elliot's attention was on Sookie.

"_You_." The telepath looked more disgusted than anything else by this point and Elliot took a step closer, suddenly nervous. "You're the traitor."

"_What_?"

Hugo was staring at the blonde and she at him while Elliot gaped open-mouthed between the two. He didn't deny it.

"I don't-" Elliot was shaking her head, not angry so much as numb right now because _Hugo_? She couldn't comprehend that it could possibly have been him – he was so...so _unremarkable_. He was quiet, pleasant, polite – she'd had all her targets pinned on Stan, the one with the motivation, the anger, the streak of viciousness. Never – _never_ – had she thought that it might be Hugo.

"It was him all along," Sookie was telling her quietly, shaking her head. "He told them we were coming, that's how they almost got us at the airport – he was listening when we decided to come here."

"But..." Elliot shook her head again, turning a startled gaze onto Hugo, who was watching her warily. "_Why_? I thought you loved Isabel, I thought – I thought you were on _our_ side."

Hugo was silent for a moment in the wake of the revelation and the question, shaking his own head, defeat personified with his gaze on the floor. He paced for a few seconds in silence before folding to sit himself on a box in the corner, running a hand through his hair and letting out a shaky breath. When he finally looked up his gaze landed on Sookie. "I used to be just like you," he told her flatly. "I thought I was a real emancipated thinker, especially when Isabel took me to bed."

His mouth twisted almost ruefully and he drew his knees up, hunching his shoulders slightly. Elliot began to pace up and down, sensing that this was a conversation more directed at Sookie because she would be the one more likely to understand – or so he seemed to think. "And the sex was...amazing. The best I ever- well. You know. It's addictive, isn't it? To be desired by something that powerful." Here his eyes flickered from Sookie to Elliot, who flushed.

"I haven't had sex with Eric," she said quickly, shaking her head at once as Sookie frowned.

"I'm no _addict_." And the blonde clearly resented the suggestion, which Elliot could understand. She and Bill seemed very much in that faze of sweet-eyed, honey-coated love that Elliot had had a few years back, before everything went to shit. The kind of love that almost hurt it filled you so much, the sort that sat in the bones almost as a deep ache of _need_ for one another, just because being with him, or her, was the only thing in the world that seemed worth it any more. Sookie and Bill were in _love_, they were not addicted, and Elliot was certainly not either of the two.

In fact she didn't even know what Eric _was_ to her and she didn't like to dwell on it too much because it made her feel flustered at the fact that she _didn't_ know because she _should_.

"No," Hugo allowed, jerking his head dismissively. "I guess you wouldn't know how your life changes to suit them. You start missing work, can't get up in the morning, can't stand to leave them after dark." Elliot had gone still and could sense Sookie's growing disquiet though the waitress remained silent. Elliot was struck, however, because Hugo had something of a _point_. She _had_ missed work for Eric, and she had stayed up too late because of him, slept longer in the morning because of the late night. She'd never slept much anyway but he'd disrupted her sleeping habits yet more and what was worse was that now it wasn't even that Eric's threat was keeping her in place because they had, somehow and somewhen, moved beyond that. She helped him because she _wanted_ to, because she _liked_ being near him and Hugo's words were suddenly making her feel quite sick.

"Before you know it you're somebody you don't even recognise."

Elliot turned slowly to look at the man as he spoke, her skin pale beneath the bruise colouring her jaw. She _had_ changed, hadn't she? But...for the better. Elliot knew that. She'd changed for the better because she wasn't so flighty anymore, she wasn't so scared. She'd found a small semblance of a life, drawing it around her like some kind of armour. Hell, she'd even _laughed_. And while it couldn't be attributed to Eric, precisely, he did make her feel _happier_ and it wasn't something she'd been for a long time. Even so, Hugo's words sat uneasily with Elliot and she focused a sharp gaze on him as she pushed the thoughts away.

"So you went to the Fellowship because you can't _control _yourself?" Sookie surmised, her voice laced with disgust. Her expression matched the tone, her eyes unsympathetic on the man before her.

"I begged her to turn me," Hugo confessed bitterly. "It was the only way we could be together as _equals_ but see, they don't _want_ us to be equals. No. She's just been _using_ me." He paused, nodding imploringly. "Same way that Bill's been using _you_ and Eric's using _you_." His gaze swung, again, between the two and Elliot's fists clenched. She wished she hadn't heard a word he had to say; there was no denying that there was, somehow, a faint line of truth in what he said and she _hated_ it because there was no denying that Eric had only shown any interest in her because he'd wanted to use her ability. When it came down to it, she wasn't even sure that that wasn't all he cared about.

Sookie's jaw clenched. "You don't know Bill," she said firmly. "Or Eric," she amended after a very brief glance at Elliot, but from her tone it was clear that the blonde was not the Viking vampire's biggest fan.

"I know he and his friends are having you do their dirty work," Hugo burst out, flinging out a hand that made Elliot flinch ever so slightly, despite the fact that he wasn't even close to within hitting distance. _Pull yourself together_. "I mean, a telepath's gotta be a real trophy for a vampire, and I saw what you can do – you threw Gabe clear across the room and he's at least _twice_ your weight so don't-"

"Shut up," Sookie and Elliot both snapped at once, the former angry, the latter not wanting to hear it.

"All they care about is their own kind, okay?" Hugo ploughed on, gesturing somewhere beyond their makeshift holding cell. "_That's_ why I joined the Fellowship."

Elliot found herself taking a step towards him, spreading her own hands to indicate all around them. "If the Newlins care so much about you then why the fuck are you still down here, huh?" she demanded of him. "I don't see them running to help you out and they _won't_."

"Face it, Hugo," Sookie added, her voice high. "You're nothing but a fangbanging traitor to them."

Hugo drew in a breath of anger and rose fluidly to his feet. "Gabe? Gabe they know everything," he called out, making his way over to the door and wrapping his fingers into the mesh once again. "You can let me out now." For a few long seconds they all waited tensely but nobody came. "Hey? Anybody! Come on let me out!" Hugo wrenched fruitlessly against the mesh before leaning his forehead against it once he realised that nobody was listening to him, slumping with defeat.

"Oh yeah, Newlin's right-hand man," Elliot snarled, shaking her head. Hugo glanced to his side long enough to spare her a glare before his head rested against the mesh again. He had, it seemed, finally accepted what Elliot had that morning; nobody was coming for them.

Sookie sighed and her head and shoulders dropped, her gaze on the floor. Eventually Hugo retreated back to the box he'd been sitting on and Elliot sat on the floor, her back braced against the wall. None of them said anything; it had all been said.

Elliot tried in vain to keep her thoughts from dwelling on Hugo's words, her head rolling back against the stone bricks as she dozed lightly, coming to every few minutes as she tried to keep herself away from any deep sleep that might have made her dream. Somehow, the constant drifting and waking only made her more tired than before and she jerked suddenly when the door opened, staggering blearily to her feet, disorientated and by now slightly shaky from the lack of food , water or real rest.

Gabe shouldered his way into the room and Hugo nearly sagged with relief. "Gabe," he said at once, on his feet and moving slightly closer to the mesh before he paused as the other man stepped under the light. "What happened to your face?"

His lip was bleeding, his jaw sporting similar bruising to Elliot's own and she felt a savage twist of pleasure as her eyes flickered over it.

"Listen – they know everything, which never would have _happened_ if you hadn't kept me down here with a goddamn mind reader," Hugo said quickly, his every word a protest as Gabe unlocked the door. Elliot's heart began to hammer; she didn't want to be anywhere near Gabe – he scared her witless and she'd been in his presence a grand total of _once_ but he stepped inside and she was frozen with her back against the wall, her heart beating a tattoo against her ribs. "I hope the Reverend knows that I'm gonna need protection now."

Sookie had also backed up as Gabe entered, her arms crossed protectively in front of her. Gabe didn't say a word; he simply pulled back an arm and let his fist fly against Hugo's face. The man dropped to the sound of Sookie and Elliot's twin gasps as Gabe leant over him. "You want protection you fangbanging sack of _shit_?" he snarled, landing another blow. "How's that for protection, huh? Here's a little more protection for you." He moved to strike again but Elliot had jerked out of the terrified stupor his presence had landed her in and she threw herself forwards with a wordless yell.

"STOP IT!" Sookie shrieked as Elliot landed on Gabe's back, wrapping her arms around his thick neck as tightly as they could go, which wasn't very tight in her current sorry state. Sookie darted forwards just as Gabe turned and rammed himself into a wall, slamming Elliot against the shelves and staggering so that all three of them collapsed on the floor in a tangle of limbs and boxes.

"You think you can make an asshole out of me?" Gabe demanded, grabbing for whoever he could reach. Sookie screamed as he latched onto her and Elliot swung at his head with her fist. Gabe grunted and lashed out, catching Elliot on the side of her head and sending her sprawling into the floor with her ears ringing and her hand feeling like seven hells. For a second she lay there, the lights swimming hazily above her, head throbbing and every bone she possessed aching with power that should have been there to help her but _wasn't_ because she was too damn _tired_ and burned out to do anything damn well _useful_. Sookie's screams dragged her back into reality and with a groan Elliot gained her knees, blinking blearily.

"Yeah show me how you scream," Gabe was snarling, Sookie's dress a whirl of colour as he pinned her down. It took Elliot another moment before his intentions became quite, quite clear through her hazed thoughts and her rage burned red hot. He let out a scream of genuine pain as he was yanked backwards by nothing, banging against a wall and flinching as marker pens, lamps and boxes flew at him a second before Elliot did, drawn by power which had never made her feel so _alive_ as it did right now, despite the bone-deep exhaustion that had set in hours ago.

"I will fucking _kill_ you!" she screamed at him, landing on his chest and swinging her fists and legs and battering what of him she could reach before he'd overpowered her, his knee catching her ribs as he flipped her over and slammed her shoulders into the ground.

"What the fuck _are _you, you fangbanging little freak?"

Sookie was yelling from somewhere in the room but Elliot couldn't focus on anything but her hatred, burning through her very blood, for this man. Every blow she landed made him wince more than it should have, her curse lending her whatever it could before she passed out, as she would eventually – she always did. All Elliot knew was that if she was going to die today she was damn well going to die after beating as much shit out of this bastard as she could.

His fists were bigger than hers and he hit a lot harder but anger softened the blows, the bruises merely adding fuel to the fire that was all she could feel as she hammered against him. Life had become nothing outside of the screaming mess of whirling limbs and blows that either landed or went astray, the words spewing forth from Gabe's mouth and the _need_ to hurt this man like she'd never hurt anyone before.

He managed to swing a right hook that snapped her head to the side and Elliot could see nothing for what felt like a long time, whiteness surrounding her in a nothingness of sweet, blessed silence – even Sookie's screams had stopped and then everything came back; cold air against abused skin, cuts and bruises, aches deep inside her bones and a killer headache that made her want to cry out.

Elliot opened her eyes, surprised to find that they were closed in the first place, and pulled herself upwards. The motion made her want to heave and everything lurched for a moment before the sounds returned and life was in full technicolour all over again.

Sookie was gasping on desperate, sobbing breaths and threw herself towards Elliot, who flinched away and rolled to catch sight of Gabe – and...

"Godric?" she questioned dumbly through a mouth that did not want to move. She could taste the copper of blood over her tongue, the alien feeling of a swollen lip against her teeth. There was not a single part of her body that didn't _hurt_ but none of it mattered because they'd _found_ him; he was here and he was staring at her. His face was pale under the lights and his expression was unreadable but as she spoke his name his fangs gleamed in the ghost of a smile.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: TA DA! HE'S HERE GODRIC IS HERE! I am way too excited about this fact but oh my gosh I really do have a lot a lot of love for that dude. I stayed up stupidly late to write this (and almost regretted it when I had to get up for work...almost) so please go easy if it's a bit crappy...hopefully the fast update makes up for it. If not...I'm sorry and if I could give you chocolate I would. (I'm keeping Godric for myself though, notevensorry)<strong>

**Elliot is...not doing so well. Things do tend to get worse before they get better, though so...*rubs hands evilly***

**The title is the same as a song by Three Days Grace. The next update will probably be up this weekend because I'm not doing anything so I'll have tonnes of time to write. Please shoot me a review to let me know what you think and thank you times a million, as always, for reading and coming this far with me. :) **


	30. Hit The Ground Running

Elliot's head was swimming, darkness at the edges of her vision calling enticingly but the ground was cold beneath her, her bones aching and her skin smarting, all of it rooting her to the here and now, as much as she wanted to slip away. There was something important...important. Something she was doing. Maybe she'd done it. Maybe someone else had done it. Maybe she wasn't doing anything at all.

She could hear noises, distantly, and a sudden flare of pain in her ribs jerked her back into _now_, eyes flying open – again – with a gasp. Elliot let out a wordless groan and fought to sit up, Sookie's tear-stained face and familiar blonde hair suddenly all she could see. The waitress had hold of her, was tugging her upwards and muttering at her, something about staying awake...awake. _Awake_. Elliot was supposed to be _awake_but she wasn't; the room was slipping away again.

This time when she opened her eyes she had a sideways view of the room and there was a thump, a vision of blue landing next to her with open, blank eyes. That did it. Elliot jerked backwards with a strangled sort of yelp as her ribs protested but she wanted to be as far away from Gabe, or his _body_, as she could be. Because it was indeed a body lying there; not Gabe anymore. He was dead.

Sluggishly, Elliot's thoughts tried to stumble through what had happened. She could remember Gabe walking in, remembered a surge of anger and energy, remembered hitting and being hit and then-

"You should not have come."

_Godric_. Elliot remembered now, seeing him, his fangs. He'd had hold of Gabe, must have pulled him away. Dimly, she registered that the vampire had probably saved her life in doing so. It felt like that had been hours ago but looking around with a blank gaze she realised it had probably been less than a minute since her vision had first whited out.

"Elliot." Sookie was beside her, her fingers fluttering over Elliot's bruised skin but the brunette shook her head.

"I'm fine," she mumbled, her eyes fixed on Godric. He was nothing like what she'd been expecting, but Elliot was starting to get used to that feeling. He looked younger than her – barely yet a man, with tattoos twining up his arms and she could see more on his chest through the thin white shirt he had on. He was dark haired and dark eyed, his skin paler even than Eric's – this vampire and the Viking Elliot knew could not have been more dissimilar if they'd tried. Where Eric's lips usually looked seconds from smirking or making some snide comment, Godric's were set in a line, his eyes and demeanour defeated as he stood above the body of the man he'd just killed.

His words had been clipped but soft-spoken and he seemed lost, somehow. A commotion from above them drew Elliot's attention away from the ancient vampire and onto the ceiling, the movement sending the world spinning again and her fists clenched as she tried to recall reality.

"Bill!" Sookie called out, scrambling to her feet as she finished fixing up her dress. _Bill_. Elliot knew that name. He was...someone. Someone in the world...like her. She was just someone, drifting, floating – everything was so _light_ how did she ever _cope_? She had to close her eyes because otherwise her retinas would surely have been burnt out and her head dropped, body slumping bonelessly to the side as her tenuous hold on the world slipped again.

It only lasted for a few moments; the world came crashing back soon enough, this time with another pair of legs, bent against the floor in front of her. Elliot blinked heavy lids, mentally doing a headcount as she tried to order her thoughts. Sookie: one. Godric: two. So why could she see three people, discounting Gabe who was lying a few feet from her and..._Hugo_. Hugo was here, too – Gabe had knocked him out, he was a traitor but Gabe had attacked him and then Elliot had jumped at Gabe and it was _Hugo's_damn fault.

Finding the energy somewhere deep within her, Elliot's head shifted against the floor and she pulled herself up all over again; it was getting really tiring to keep slumping over only to have to drag herself back up and this time Elliot's grip fixed itself on the edge of a box in the hope that if she _did_go again she'd remain sitting up.

It wasn't Hugo it was _Eric_kneeling in front of Godric with an expression across his features that on any other day would have sent Elliot's thoughts whirling with questions but right now seemed strange and little more. It was quite something to see Eric kneeling to anyone and at the back of her mind Elliot snapped a mental shot of the image, deciding to ignore the almost pained look on the familiar vampire's face when she looked back on it.

"I'm aware of what they have planned," Godric's voice carried across to her, even through the haze that had settled inconveniently over everything. "This one betrayed you," he added, gesturing behind him.

Eric turned to look at the rest of the room for the first time and he stilled upon seeing Elliot, staring blankly at he and Godric, bruised and bleeding and slumped against a box. "What...?" Everything was supposed to be _fine_ – he'd gotten a message (well, Bill had) that they were _trapped_ but he hadn't been expecting this, hadn't even _noticed_he'd been so taken with Godric the second he caught sight of his Maker. But there was no denying, now, that they'd been in a lot more trouble than Eric had realised; Elliot looked close to crashing once and for all and even Sookie was looking worse for wear.

"He's with the Fellowship," Sookie explained hollowly, now kneeling beside Elliot, whose gaze flickered across to her.

"It was a trap," she muttered poisonously. "They knew who were soon as we got here." Every word hurt to speak but it was better than nothing and talking helped keep her focused on the _now_ because while Eric and Godric were both here, they were all still in the basement of the damned Fellowship and they had to get _out_somehow. Eric, who seemed to make a conscious decision that Elliot looked worse than she really was seeing as she was speaking and her shoulders had now even straightened up a little, turned back to Godric.

"And you?" he asked, worry colouring his tone more potently than Elliot had ever heard it. "How long has it been since you fed?"

Godric's gaze was beyond Eric, looking at Hugo still, thoughtful. "I require very little blood anymore," he said calmly, turning back to Eric. He looked like he was going to say something else when an alarm of some kind sounded through the open door and blue lights began to flash. All conscious heads turned towards it and Elliot's eyes widened; the lock-in.

"Shit," she said succinctly.

"Save the humans," Godric commanded at once, his focus beyond the door but his words obviously directed at the vampire kneeling before him. "Go on."

Eric looked stricken. "I am _not_leaving your side until you-"

"I can take care of myself," Godric cut him off, his voice just as quiet as before but somehow holding more authority than Elliot could have imagined before she'd heard him speak. It was clear that he did not expect to be argued with.

"Come on we have to _go_," Sookie insisted, her hand on Elliot's shoulder. Elliot, taking the hint, hauled herself to her feet with no small amount of difficulty. The world seemed a lot more real when she was up, though it did sway a little. For a moment Sookie kept hold of her elbow but Elliot gave a short nod; she could do this.

"Spill no blood on your way out." Godric stared at Eric as he remained unmoving for a long moment, the blond looking about to protest. "_Go_."

In a fluid-like motion Eric rose to his considerable height and was at Elliot's side, one arm snaking around her waist despite her mumbled protest that she could walk by _herself,_and herded her towards the door. Sookie darted before them and checked that the way through was clear as Eric pulled Elliot along at a pace she wasn't quite ready to walk just yet.

They paused just at the door and Elliot turned with Eric as he opened his mouth to try and convince the other vampire to escape with them but Godric took three steps forward and his expression bade no argument. "Leave, Eric - _now_. The human can barely walk."

Elliot straightened, indignant at the comment, but Eric didn't argue, instead sweeping her along the corridor to leave Godric behind them. She tried to keep up but his legs were about a mile long and hers felt like lead. Lead that gravity had a _thing_for. She almost collapsed in admittance of defeat when she saw the stairs but Eric, without a word, hooked his arm more tightly around her and she was quite suddenly not touching the floor anymore.

"_Hey_," she hissed, but the word had barely left her mouth before they were at the top and he'd set her down in utter silence. Sookie was beside her in a second, shooting her a look that asked if she was okay and Elliot tipped her head in a low nod. Eric had paused, moving along to peer around the wall and check what was going on; hundreds of voices could be heard and the alarms that made Elliot's head feel near splitting, Newlin's voice rising above it all telling everyone to keep calm and evacuate the building.

Eric retreated back to them, tight-lipped and tense. "I could have you out in seconds," he said lowly.

Elliot was shaking her head even before Sookie spoke. "There's _kids_out there," she protested quietly.

"None of those humans would think twice about hurting us," came Eric's retort and his gaze moved unconsciously across Elliot, who was now leaning against the wall. Sookie moved forwards, her expression telling quite clearly that she had a bone to pick and she meant to do it _now_.

"Why didn't you bring Bill with you?" she demanded.

Eric paused for a second. "Bill's attachment to you is irrational; it clouds his judgement. He'd have been a liability." Which, Elliot thought, was actually quite fair; though she didn't agree that his attachment was 'irrational' there was no doubting that Bill would have stopped at nothing to free Sookie. While that was, arguably, a good thing, there were in fact children walking past and Elliot didn't like to think of them all lying dead because their idiot of a Reverend had picked the wrong telepath to kidnap. There was another part of her that was, irrationally, _jealous,_but she pushed that part away as quickly as it surfaced; Elliot didn't want to dwell on those sorts of feelings, especially not when she was already mere seconds from keeling over. As though he'd been able to hear what Elliot had been thinking, Eric added; "He would kill every child in this church to save you."

"Why aren't _you_?" Sookie asked, the question that had, traitorously, formed at the back of Elliot's mind, a question she'd never have dared to ask, nor wanted to think about why she even wanted to know the answer.

Eric's eyes closed for a second before they could swing around to look at Elliot. "I'm following Godric's orders," he said stiffly.

"He's your Maker, isn't he?" Sookie questioned, carefully.

Eric seemed to grow still and then scowled at her. "Don't use words you don't understand."

"You have a lot of love for him," Sookie observed, ignoring his tone.

At that Eric did freeze and his gaze fixed on Sookie as though he couldn't bear to look anywhere else. He looked almost hunted, struggling to grasp for an answer he didn't want to give until his eyes grew cold and he shut it all away. "Don't use words I don't understand," he said eventually, softly, his eyes still glued to Sookie because it was easier to look at her than it was anywhere else – at any_one_ else. It was easier to look at her and pretend none of this _mattered _because all he cared about was _Godric_ than it was to try and face the truth. The truth that had made his stomach drop at seeing her, the truth that cut him right to the core at the fact that he _hadn't_ been here and she had _suffered_ for it – the truth that whispered, traitorously, that he _cared_ and that made him _weak_. So he ignored the truth and he turned away from Sookie, from both of them.

Elliot watched him closely, the silence that settled over all three of them tense, and not just because of the announcements that were flowing from Newlin's mouth to inform everyone that _soldiers_ were on their way. "Well," Elliot muttered in a brave attempt at light-heartedness in spite of everything. "That doesn't leave us with very many." His words stuck with her, though, and Elliot had to force her mind to focus as her thoughts tried to wander, wondering what love _really_ was because she'd thought she'd known until Michael changed and now she didn't understand at all. She had convinced herself by now that it didn't really exist, but there was no denying that there was _something_ that stirred in her when Eric had said that, something that felt suspiciously like _disappointment_ and Elliot hated it. She _shouldn't_ be disappointed, she shouldn't even _care_ because this wasn't the plan. This had _never_been the plan.

Eric was peering around the corner again and Elliot reached up to run a hand through her hair, wincing as her fingers came across a tender spot on her skull, wondering when exactly that had happened. Everything_ hurt_ – she felt quite as though she'd been chewed up and spat back out and then _stood_ on and yet _still_ they had to try and find some way out of this damned church, past the guys outside armed with stakes and silver and fists. Maybe on a normal day she'd have suggested winging it, just running and hoping for the best but Elliot wasn't even sure she could _walk_right now, let alone run.

There was the distinct sound of doors closing and Eric moved, readying himself to step out. At once Elliot straightened to stop him and Sookie reached out a hand that didn't touch him. "Eric _no_," the blonde hissed shaking her head. The vampire turned back and a ghost of his old smirk was in place as he glanced between them.

"Trust me." He made to move away again and this time Elliot forced herself to step forwards, afraid to say anything in case she drew the attention of the church-goers in the hall so she gripped his sleeve. He turned at once.

"Fangs," Elliot murmured, eyes on his mouth. His tongue flashed against them in surprise; he hadn't realised they'd been out.

"Your fault," he returned quietly, reaching up so his fingers hovered just above her cut lip and the blood that had smudged there. His hand dropped without touching her and he pulled in a sharp breath, a tiny click sounding as the fangs disappeared and then he gave a small nod before striding away.

Elliot pushed herself against the wall - partly to keep out of sight, partly because her legs had started to shake - and tilted her head the slightest bit to catch what little of the scene she could. Eric had hunched his shoulders up around his ears, his stride now an awkward sort of gait as he made his way towards the guys gathered near the doors. Elliot had to smack a hand over her mouth to silence a snort of laughter that threatened to escape at Eric's '_hey y'all_' and Sookie prodded her warningly between the shoulder blades.

It was risky, but Elliot couldn't help it and it was lightening to find _something_to be amused about in this shithole of a situation. She recovered quickly enough, however, as one of the Fellowship drones sidled up behind the vampire and Elliot only just got her hands away in time, darting forwards even as she yelled and Sookie tried to grab her.

"ERIC!" she called out, panicked, as Sookie let loose a warning of "STAKE!"

Eric swirled around and in seconds two of the men were down and he had the third pinned against the wall, fangs bared and back tense, anger written in every contour of his body as he forced the point of the stake against the man's throat. "Stop him," Elliot gasped as Sookie darted forwards, following at a pathetic sort of stagger herself and blinking hard when the world tried to spin away from her. One of the guys Eric had attacked sprinted past, brushing against her shoulder and Elliot threw out a hand to keep steady but it met nothing and the ground came suddenly very close until strong hands had hold of her and her feet were beneath her once again.

Wordlessly, Eric twined his fingers through hers and tugged her gently towards the doors, inching one open and peering through. Elliot's fingers tightened on his at what she saw coming towards them.

"Those arrows are wood," the guy slurred from the floor. "You'll never make it through." But Elliot hadn't needed him to tell her that; hordes of men and women in grey uniforms and laden with weapons were marching towards the doors and there no way in _hell_was she letting Eric walk out there anyway. He shut the door with a low growl.

"Through the sanctuary," Sookie suggested desperately and all three of them turned, the telepath leading the way as Eric followed behind, Elliot just about keeping stride with him. Her heart was hammering now because those guys had been just _metres_ away; they'd be through any second and surely they'd check _here_first, of all places, and they had stakes and damn silver which could take out even Eric, confident though he seemed as he strode through the massive hall that had seemed so comforting the last time she was here.

"Where's the exit?" he demanded roughly, and Elliot suspected that he was not quite so calm as his demeanour would have them believe.

"Back that way," Sookie returned at once, pointing ahead, and without a word the three of them started almost to jog. Elliot's legs were wobbly but steady enough as they made their way down the aisle, Eric's hand around hers a bigger comfort than she cared to admit and a _large_part of the reason why she was still upright before they all stopped dead as a voice sounded.

"There are several exits, actually," Steve Newlin informed them quite calmly as he stepped out from behind the altar, smiling dangerously. "For you, the easiest one takes you straight to hell." He came to a halt directly in front of the altar and, almost as though they had planned the whole thing, the doors burst open behind the three escapees.

Elliot turned, almost head-butting Eric's arm as she looked, and her heart sank. Men and women striding in, ready with chains of silver, stakes, crossbows and spears, all with steely determination on their faces. They outnumbered them at least twenty to one and as Elliot turned to look back at Newlin and the satisfied gleam in his eyes she understood that they were, this time, well and truly _fucked_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I'm wondering if I should start doing one of those things where I list the awesome people who left feedback? It's a maybe thing that will probably happen when I end up going back to alter chapter titles and spelling mistakes and whatnot. Anyhow, that's not actually important.<strong>

**The title comes from All Star by Smashmouth – not hugely appropriate but I spend far too long looking for lyrics that fit and then often eventually just give up. **

**Next chapter is written and will be up soon, the chapter after that is in the making, chapter after that is mostly done and the chapter after **_**that**_** is done too – I've been productive, see? Also I write things in a weird order. Thanks for reading, of course, and if you wanted to be so kind as to leave a review I'd love you forever and ever. :) **


	31. It Ends Tonight

_when darkness turns to light_

_it ends tonight_

* * *

><p>There was a moment after the soldiers had come to a halt when everybody was silent, though Elliot was sure that anyone who cared to listen could hear her frantically pounding heart. Sookie was the one to break it, after staring between the people behind them and Newlin for a second, her expression one of desperate, terrible fear that, Elliot was quite sure, mirrored her own.<p>

"Let us leave," the blonde burst out, panicking now. "Save yourselves, no one has to die!" But, really, they all knew by now that the three trapped in the centre would be the ones who suffered the greatest losses if it came to it; no matter how fast Eric was, those with arrows and crossbows could take him down before he'd killed enough of them, Sookie wouldn't exactly be much help if it came to a fight and Elliot didn't think she could summon up enough energy to run let alone defend herself. No, they were trapped more here, out in the open, than they ever had been in the mesh cage.

Newlin was grinning, his hands spread out to either side as he drew confidence from his armed soldiers and his prisoners' helpless predicament. "The war has begun, you evil whore of Satan," he announced grandly, which, Elliot thought, wasn't very _Christian_. "You vampires cast the first stone by killing my family."

"That's pathetic," Elliot ground out, ignoring Eric as he squeezed her hand warningly. "You can't hold an entire fucking _race_ responsible for what _one_ idiot did!"

"No," Newlin snapped. "The lines have been drawn. You're either _with_ us or _against_ us." His tone was final. "We are prepared for Armageddon."

Eric gave a very derisive, though very quiet, snort at that. "Scared little boys," he muttered, so only Elliot could hear.

"The vampire you're holding prisoner got away," Sookie said loudly. "He's a _Sheriff_, he's bound to send for help." And if she sounded a little desperate, well – Elliot wasn't going to call her on it because right now desperate felt like what her very _bones_ were made of.

Newlin was shaking his head, undaunted. "I'm not concerned with Godric," he told them smoothly, smugly. His lips were playing at a grin again, the sight of it making Elliot's skin crawl. "Any vampire will do for our grand celebration and we got one right here," he announced cheerfully, pointing dramatically at Eric.

Elliot's heart stopped. "No." She turned to stare at him as his head came around, icy blue eyes fixing on her and they were _sorry_, sorry but determined and Elliot shook her head, gasping in a breath as everything but Eric got a little dimmer, started to matter less. Only _he_ mattered right now because she could see in his eyes what he wanted to do, what he was going to do. She didn't need to feel him disentangling his fingers from hers, didn't need his words of false reassurance.

"I'll be fine." He turned away from her and Elliot swayed for a second. No. _No_. She grabbed at his sleeve but he detached himself calmly, leaving her reeling as he stepped up to the altar.

"NO!" Elliot shouted it this time, diving after him with the last scraps of energy she had summon but at a nod from Newlin somebody had grabbed her, had twisted her arms up behind her back and she couldn't _move_, could only yell wordless fury and horror as Eric kept walking, didn't turn back, didn't look at her. She struggled like a cat before she gasped for breath, focusing and grasping for her power and then Newlin seemed to realise, seemed to remember Gabe in the basement as he was thrown and while he didn't _understand_ what had happened he seemed to decide he didn't want to risk it.

"Grab the blonde, too," he ordered quickly, and somebody had entrapped Sookie in a moment, a stake pressed against her throat. Elliot went still at once. "One move and she's done." Elliot stared between Newlin and Sookie, who was staring wide-eyed right back at her, silent and terrified. Elliot swayed a little, testing against the man who had hold of her and the other one dug the stake in a little so a tiny drop of blood ran down Sookie's neck and Elliot's knees almost unlocked in her defeat as she sagged.

Eric had stopped, had his back to her still, his shoulders not the proud line she was used to but a loose gesture of defeat, of submission. Newlin stood a few steps above him, eyes glittering as he looked out over his audience.

"Brothers and sisters," he said reverently. "There _will_ be a holy bonfire at dawn." He started laughing as he spoke and Elliot's blood burned; maybe once it would have meant something to feel that fire in her veins but now, weak and _useless_, it only made her want to cry.

"Eric," she breathed desperately. "_Eric_. No. Don't do this, don't okay _don't_ do this, _please_." She was shaking, feeling sick and dizzy and _lost_ because she couldn't stand here and watch him die; she refused.

"Shut it you fangbanging bitch," the guy who had hold of her snarled against her ear and Elliot threw her head back to crash against his nose and he let go of her with a cry of shock and pain. Ignoring him, she threw herself towards Eric, Eric who was still and waiting and not _fighting_, Eric who had given up, Eric who was going to _die_ but she'd barely moved two feet when others had hold of her and she screamed out in fury, lashing out as they all fell to the ground, abusing already bruised ribs as they took the brunt of the fall.

Newlin was still laughing and Elliot's shoulders burned with pain as her arms were pulled back yet more painfully than before and Sookie was yelling, telling her to stop it, stop it _please_ and won't you all just _listen_ but Elliot wasn't listening, _couldn't_ listen because her head was full of a thick, deafening buzzing noise that drowned out everything but Newlin's words; a bonfire at dawn. _A bonfire at dawn_. Eric, who would burn as the sun rose. Eric, helpless as they tied him up with silver, laid across the altar like some sick sacrifice even as Elliot watched from her knees, two soldiers holding onto her from behind, their hands leaving bruises against her skin but she didn't _care_ because all she could think of was the sunrise; Eric's death sentence.

Unbidden, she remembered the room when she'd first walked in, the way she'd been near blinded by the light that had come pouring out; unrelenting sunlight, suddenly merciless as she thought of it. Elliot had always, _always_, loved the sun but for the first time in her life she couldn't think of anything she hated more. The sun that always rose and always set, the sun which now counted down the rest of Eric's life. He was supposed to be _eternal_ and yet with every second that passed the night drifted away and the day rushed towards them. Unstoppable, unavoidable.

By now the deed was done; Eric was bound across the stone, hissing against the pain and she could _see_ where it burned him, could almost feel it herself she was watching so intently and she let out a strangled sort of sob that she was powerless to stop. Eric's fists were clenching and unclenching beneath the ropes of silver and Elliot drew in a ragged breath; panicking wasn't going to help anything. She had to fight the darkness that wanted to swallow her up, she had to _think_.

But she couldn't think because all she _could_ think through the haze that had settled once again over everything was _Eric_. All she could think was that this was a vampire who had scared her senseless once upon a time, one who had threatened her and made her feel like shit, the same one who had admitted that he needed help with this mess, the same one who had lay with her as she fell asleep, held onto her so she wouldn't dream. He was the reason Elliot hadn't fled yet another town, the reason she'd stuck around long enough to find other things that mattered enough to stick around _for_. He'd been her first kiss since Michael, her first _anything_ since Michael because before she'd met him she hadn't slowed down enough to actually look around her.

And now he was going to die.

And she was going to watch.

Another sob choked its way past her teeth until Elliot's teeth sank into her lip hard enough to draw blood. After everything, it was going to come to this? After sneaking in, getting locked away and being trapped in the damn basement, waiting and waiting and that sliver of hope when Godric had arrived, when Eric had arrived and after all of it Eric was going to die anyway. Selfishly, terribly, Elliot wished it was Godric. She didn't _know_ him, didn't _care_ for him – he'd saved her life, true enough, but Elliot couldn't place even that above Eric's life. For him to die like this...it was unthinkable, and only now did she come to realise just how much he _meant_ to her. The timing of it almost made her laugh. Almost.

"You see?" Newlin addressed his soldiers and unwilling guests with arms spread wide in front of Eric. "Just as our lord, our saviour, was betrayed for thirty pieces of silver, a few ounces of silver can betray a child of Satan to the world!" His voice has risen more and more with every word and Elliot lifted her head as well as she could in the position she was being held in to glare at him with every bit of hatred she harboured within her.

"You're a fucking _psycho_!" she spat out.

"It doesn't make any _sense_," Sookie cried, struggling futilely against those who held her. She was still on her feet but equally as unable to get free as Elliot, not that that diminished either of their fury. "How can you people listen to him?" she demanded of the soldiers surrounding them, contempt in her every word.

"I..." Eric groaned, tense against the silver. Elliot froze, trying to move forwards a little, panicked, but her captors yanked her back and Newlin leant slightly closer to the vampire. "I offer myself...in exchange for Godric's freedom," Eric ground out with obvious difficulty, pain thick in his voice. Elliot's blood burned. Fucking _Godric._ After Eric had come all the way out to Dallas to save his sorry arse, Eric had sacrificed himself for the older vampire and where the fuck was he now? "The humans, too."

"No, Eric," Elliot snapped, ignoring the sharp jab of pain as someone yanked on her hair to quiet her. "Stop this, _stop it_ – you call yourself a fucking _Christian_?"

Newlin, ignoring her, focused on Eric. "That's noble," he said with mock appreciation. "But they're just as culpable as you are." His attention moved away from the vampire and his eyes, glittering, moved over Sookie before they landed on Elliot, scowling, bruised and bleeding, kneeling in the middle of the aisle with two men holding her down. "They're traitors to their race, the _human_ race. They don't deserve mercy."

"Fuck you," Elliot hissed at him, wrenching again against the hands that held her but to no avail. Newlin was grinning wildly as he leant over Eric, lowering his voice as though imparting a great secret.

"Maybe we could tie her to you so you can meet the sun together," he suggested, turning a little to the side to smirk at Elliot, who had frozen. "She seems so...eager to be with you."

"No," she gasped, staggering as she was wrenched upwards, struggling all over again, this time fighting _not _to move forward, digging her heels in as they tried to drag her. "Fuck you, fuck you, _fuck you_-"

"NO!" Eric's voice tore through his throat but Newlin had moved past him, was approaching Elliot with that same wild gleam in his eyes.

She pulled backwards, struggling to even remain upright as her energy ebbed slowly away. "Oh, I bet you'd roast up nicely," Newlin purred.

Elliot kicked out, her weight briefly suspended by the two holding her, and swore loudly at him but her feet missed and Newlin laughed again before his attention was diverted. It took her a second because she'd been making one hell of a lot of noise in her attempt to free herself but Elliot registered the sound of screaming from outside a moment before the doors slammed open.

"SOOKIE!" It was Bill. People were turning, a few taking steps away from the doors and Elliot tried to twist around to see what was going on as she heard his footsteps approaching, quick and even on the polished floor.

"One more step, vampire, and the girl dies!" Newlin called above the panic that had swelled over those gathered in a wave of muttering and general noise. He had a gun pointed at Sookie's face and Elliot tried, again, to break away from the men holding her.

Bill stopped at once. "If you shoot her _everyone_ here will die," he assured Newlin and, panicked though he sounded, Elliot was pretty sure he wasn't joking. "Let them go, _now_."

"Just give it up," Elliot urged desperately, watching the man with the gun, already knowing that he was a lost cause.

Newlin shook his head, staring at Sookie for a moment before he turned to the rest of the room. "Soldiers, some silver chains for our friend," he suggested and Elliot pulled again to no avail, her shoulders now aching with a fierce burn that refused to let up even for a moment.

"Don't," Sookie burst out, yanking against her own captors. "He's done _nothing_ to you."

"Sookie I will be fine," Bill told her flatly, and Elliot wondered if he actually had a fucking _clue_ what the Fellowship had planned because none of this was _fine_. Eric had said that, too – maybe it was a vampire thing, so label really, _really_ shit things as 'fine'.

Soldiers were moving towards him; Elliot could feel them as they broke away from the gaggle surrounding herself and Sookie to walk further away from her but even as she twisted to try and see what was happening with Bill everyone froze again at another shout.

"NEWLIN!" And Elliot knew that voice. Her head whipped around in time with Sookie's, seeking out the one who'd shouted, her eyes settling unbelievably, impossibly, on Jason Stackhouse.

"Jason!" Sookie gasped, drowned out by the crack of a shot and Newlin's yell of pain as he dropped his gun, clutching his green-splattered hand and hopping around. "Let them go, fuckwad!" he yelled, always eloquent. Elliot could have _kissed_ him in that moment she was so pleased to see him, even sweaty and wearing a Light of Day Institute t-shirt, glaring and aiming a paintball gun.

As Elliot watched someone came up from behind Jason but before she could voice a warning they'd grabbed him and Jason's finger had squeezed. This one hit Newlin right between the eyes and he fell back with a shriek of pain, the soldiers stumbling backwards, their organisation and bravery crumbling around them as their leader staggered around clutching his head.

Bill shot forwards to free Sookie and Elliot, realising that the hold on her had loosened, tore herself away and threw herself up to the altar to wrench at the chains holding Eric in place. Her fingers wrapped about them and pulled them away with little thought as to how such an action much hurt him, she just needed to get them _off_.

"Let's go!" Sookie called out, and Elliot tossed the chains down at her feet, moving back as Eric sat up slowly and then shot at Newlin, grabbing him by the neck and forcing him down. His wounds were angry and red but were healing even as she watched, torn between letting the man die or trying to make Eric do the right thing. In the end, Sookie made the choice for her. "ERIC!" she screamed, stepping forwards. "Do _not_ kill him!"

"Kill him!" Jason countered from somewhere behind, just barely being restrained by the Fellowship solders. "Kill the motherfucker!"

She wanted to add her own voice to the fray, to say that killing him wouldn't actually solve anything no matter how much she wanted him dead, but her vision was going again and Elliot had to lean against the altar to remain upright. Words escaped her and she simply watched as Eric's fingers pressed into Newlin's throat and the Reverend gasped up at him.

"Go ahead," he urged, panting. "Murder us – murder us before God. We are willing to die!" He sounded half-delirious, his breaths coming in sharp gasps that sounded almost ecstatic despite the furious vampire inches away from choking the life out of him. Eric looked about to do it when more noises sounded from outside.

Elliot had to force her gaze towards the door, had to concentrate for overlong seconds to be able to actually see it and by then they had already opened to reveal Stan, striding into the room with dozens of other vampires and brimful of confidence.

"Steve Newlin," he called out as he walked, "you have pushed us too far." Others paraded in along the balconies and Elliot leaned more heavily against the altar as she tried to take them all in. She didn't exactly _like_ Stan but it was a relief to see him nonetheless. Until he continued speaking, that was, and she realised that his craving for a war was as strong as it had been the last time they'd met. His lips were curled beneath his cowboy hat as he came to a stop at the head of his own soldiers. "We'll kill you first," he promised darkly, his enjoyment in the statement impossible to miss. "Same way we did your father."

Oh _shit_.

"MURDERER!" Newlin screamed from where he was pinned to the stone steps and Eric growled him into silence, his fingers pressing ever deeper as Stan issued a command that made Elliot's knees unlock and her entire weight went against the altar.

"Destroy them," Stan commanded. "_All_ of them." Which wasn't how it was supposed to be; this was no battlefield, this wasn't _supposed_ to be a battlefield but at Stan's words the vampires had acted and within seconds every soldier of the Fellowship had been incapacitated, fangs at their throats and their own weapons turned against them and it was _wrong_ – it was all wrong.

Eric was on his feet, turning towards her as Bill yelled out that they had to go but Elliot couldn't _go_ – she couldn't _move_ and she wasn't sure any more if it was because she was too damn _exhausted_ to by now or if it was the shock of realising that she was about to witness dozens of people dying and there was nothing she could do about it. As her knees gave out and hit the hard stone floor, she suspected it was a mixture of both, until a new voice rang out, calm, collected and serene even in the face of such devastation and she slowly dragged her gaze upwards to see Godric, a vision in white against the black outside the windows.

"_Enough_." One word. It was all it took, and suddenly Elliot knew that they were _safe_.

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><p><strong>AN: Title is by the All-American Rejects, let me know what you thought! I thrive so hard off reviews, like I would replace food with reviews if that was, you know...possible. Yes, this is a shameless plea – I'm struggling somewhat with the next chapter because I know what happens <strong>_**right**_** after but getting the in-betweeny bit is proving difficult so any encouragement is very much appreciated. Also it's been a long week and I'm needy. :P Thanks for reading! **


	32. Easier To Run

**AN: I am so, so sorry guys. I don't really even know how to explain how sorry I really am, especially because this update is horribly crappy. I have a sort-of chapter written for here but I had to re-write it and re-write and I still hated it. I wrote this sort of ficlet type thing a while ago and it only just occurred to me that it might fit here. So, you have an update, but not a proper one and I am genuinely so sorry, but thank you so much to anyone who's still reading this - you have no idea what that means to me.**

**I have what happens directly after the upcoming events all written; like I said before it's just getting there that's proving difficult. Things have been stupidly busy recently but I'm hoping to get this chapter finished tomorrow, or Sunday, and then I'll update again this week.**

**Again – thank you to anyone who's still reading this and please accept my most humble apologies for how crappy this is! It's mostly an update to see if there's anyone still out there, an apology-update for taking so long and a promise that the next chapter will be up soon! **

**The title is a song by Linkin Park.**

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><p>How they got away, how they escaped from the Fellowship without leaving a trail of bodies in their wake, without any vampires chained to the altar to burn, without any humans left behind in the basement, Elliot wasn't quite sure. She strongly suspected that Godric was a large part of the reason why, with all his calm authority and ancient eyes that looked on the world in horror from a face too young to be subjected to such a curse as his. She could remember his voice but not the words he'd spoken, she could remember Eric's hands but not walking away from the church.<p>

She remembered darkness and stars overhead, cold night air that bit her skin and reality that rushed in and faded away. She remembered soothing words, questioning demands, panicked exclamations but Elliot couldn't have put names to the voices if she tried; she felt very apart from the world, as though she was stuck in some void, watching everyone from the bottom of a deep, dirty pool, only able to break the surface for a few precious seconds before sinking again.

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><p><em>Elliot doesn't know what drives her to do it, she doesn't know what makes tonight different from any other night. Perhaps it's because tonight it is one month since her parents were ripped from her. Perhaps it's because she's had twice as many cigarettes than normal and it's pushed her to the edge. Perhaps it's just that there's a line and she finally crossed it. Maybe she just finally had enough. Either way, her heart is pounding and she feels sick with fear as she steals out of her and Michael's bedroom, leaving him sprawled over the covers. He's fallen into a drunken stupor but Elliot doesn't kid herself that that makes her safe.<em>

_Nothing she has ever done in her life has measured up to this split-second decision and she can feel the weight of it as she moves along the corridor, down the stairs, avoiding the seventh one because it creaks, careful not to trip on the lop-sided rug at the bottom. Her breathing is harsh and she has to take a moment to collect herself before she fucks it over by being too damn _scared_._

_Silently, silently, she grabs her purse, a jacket, passport from the drawer in the kitchen, cash from the tin in the cupboard. She doesn't leave a note; Michael will realise soon enough. Car keys, held tight so they don't clink, boots slipped on and left unlaced as she unlatches the door with her breath in her throat. There's no sound from upstairs and Elliot holds the handle as she clicks the door back into place, praying that Michael remains undisturbed. He does, and she's out._

_The car door is opened with a regrettable click that can't be helped and, though Elliot freezes for a long moment, nobody comes to stop her. She doesn't close the door; simply slips inside and lets off the handbrake, guiding the car in silence until she's taxied back onto the road and lets herself roll down the slight incline. Dangerous, yes, but far safer than Michael._

_It takes long, aching minutes for her to reach the junction at the end of the road but she does and there she feels safe enough to slam the door and fire up the ignition, pulling away before anyone sleeping in any of the houses can register that a car has passed in the middle of the night._

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><p>Maybe that was it; maybe she was drowning. Maybe she was drowning and nobody was going to haul her back from the edge, drag her from the depths and tell her that she had to breathe. <em>Breathe<em>. Breathing was so...difficult. How did people do it? How did people do it without having to think about it when sucking in air felt like trying to pull concrete through her lungs? Elliot's chest heaved and her body tightened, eyes peeling open and chest juddering with the effort it took to _breathe_ but she did it, once, twice, three times.

Elliot's eyes snapped open and Eric's arms tensed around her but she was slipping away all over again, drowning and drowning and drowning and there was no one to help her because in the end she could never run far enough, fast enough. In the end she couldn't hide; running only made it worse and yet she couldn't help but run, run away from Michael, from her curse, from the touch of reality as it tried to make her pull herself together and ignore the pain because she doesn't know what's going on or where she is or where she's going but somehow, suddenly, that ignorance is the sweetest thing.

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><p><em>Waiting at the airport is hard and Elliot finds herself looking over her shoulder enough to draw unwanted attention to herself. Or maybe that's just the bruises that decorate her jaw and arms. She's hot but tugs her jacket back on as a guy standing nearby frowns at the discoloured skin on her forearms, distinct lines where Michael's fingers had grabbed and twisted as she tried to get away.<em>

_Elliot swallows, closes her eyes for calm but it only lasts a second and they're snapping open again because what if he's _there_ only he never is. Michael is at home (no, not home anymore) asleep in bed and she's _safe_ only Elliot cannot find it in herself to believe it._

_She doesn't believe it even when she's on the plane, staring out the window as the sun rises. She doesn't feel safe even when she lands in Virginia, nor when she finds a room to rent and locks the doors._

_As it turns out she's right not to feel safe because Michael comes for her, and it takes him only a month to find her. She was stupid, Elliot understands that when she runs again; Virginia was where she'd wanted to live, where her parents had lived - of course she'd run there. Michael isn't stupid; he knows her better than anyone else._

_Elliot runs again, to Kansas, to Nevada, Arizona - Nebraska, Illinois and Tennessee and every time he finds her until she runs again and lands in Louisiana, seeks out the smallest, shittiest town and buys a crappy little house with the very last of the money she has left. This place, this one, has to be safe because she can't run anymore._

It's not, but, as it turns out, safe was never really what she was looking for.

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><p><strong>AN: And to sort of almost maybe a little bit hopefully make up for the lateness and the crappiness, a sneak preview from an upcoming chapter:<strong>

"_I don't __owe__ you __anything__!" she practically screeched. "Don't you talk about __me__ having a fucking __choice__, Eric, not after what you did."_


	33. So Bright She Can Burn Your Eyes

**AN: Can this be...an update? It's so nice to finally get this up – I'm sorry the wait was so long again but the next one shouldn't be; I think I'm back on track now and I'm genuinely so sorry for it taking so long. Thank you so so much to everyone who's still here and reading this, you have no idea how grateful I am for your support. **

**The lyric comes from Alicia Keys' 'Girl on Fire' – it applies mostly to the very end of this chapter. **

**Thanks again for reading – if you have the time to drop a review and let me know what you thought I'd be forever grateful.**

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><p><em><strong><strong>looks like a girl but she's on fire_

_so bright she can burn your eyes_

_better look the other way_

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><p>"She lives," a deep voice drawled, quite needlessly and without any inflection whatsoever, when Elliot finally opened her eyes for good.<p>

"Of course she does," somebody else snapped. That was Eric; Elliot definitely knew his voice. It vibrated through her ribs where she was being held against his chest and, after a few seconds taken to get her bearings, Elliot straightened out her legs.

"Put me down," she instructed quietly. Eric did, slowly, though he remained standing very close, looking pensive. Elliot pursed her lips as a wave of sickness rose inside her but it passed and she let out a quiet sigh. She looked around cautiously, careful not to move too much, and realised that she was standing in Godric's living room with Eric just beside her, Stan sprawled across the couch in front of her and a number of other vampires milling about. Her legs were unsteady but valiantly holding her up and Elliot scraped a hand across her face, wincing as she hit bruises.

"You need to rest," Eric told her, putting his hands on her shoulders and steering her so she was facing the other way.

Elliot didn't argue, partly because she knew he was right and partly because focusing on putting one foot in front of the other without her knees buckling and sending her sprawling required an embarrassing amount of her concentration. With Eric's help she made it upstairs, past party-goers in evening wear celebrating Godric's safe return. Had Elliot been more coherent she might have been embarrassed by the blood-stained, now tattered, borrowed clothes that she was wearing. As it was she barely noticed where she was going; had Eric not been guiding her she'd have slid down a wall there and then just to sleep.

"In here," Eric said, pushing open a door with his shoulder and pulling Elliot through. "It's a guest room. Bathroom is there." He pointed, and Elliot nodded because he seemed to be expecting some kind of reply. "Take as long as you need - I will find you some more clothes, I'm sure Isabel has-"

"Jeans," Elliot said, quite firmly considering she was clinging to the doorframe to remain upright. "No dresses. No skirt. Please." She'd had enough of skirts and feeling unable to run because she couldn't stretch her legs. She wanted to feel like _herself_again.

Eric nodded slowly. "I'll see what I can do. Do you need any help?"

Elliot's scowl was answer enough and he grinned slyly before slipping away. She wasn't actually certain that she'd be able to make it alone but she wasn't about to ask for Eric's help in the bathroom so Elliot made her slow way across the bedroom, barely noticing the modern furnishings and crisp bed sheets before she shut herself in the bathroom.

Like the rest of Godric's house it was spacious, clean and light, modern and useable. It took a while for her to figure out how exactly to work the stupidly confusing shower - it had about a million different buttons and dials - but eventually she had hot water jetting from the head. Admittedly she'd been standing right under it when it burst into life, soaking Sookie's outfit right through, but Elliot couldn't bring herself to care. She fought free of the horrendous clothes and tossed them to the floor, tipping her head back and sighing as the water washed away the blood.

It couldn't last long; Elliot's legs were still shaking and she wasn't sure how long she could trust them to hold her up. Too soon, she had to turn the water off or risk slipping and killing herself, grabbing one of the soft towels that had been placed in the bathroom by some thoughtful angel and wrapping herself in it at once. Elliot was shivering hard enough to make her teeth clack together and she spent a long time leaning against the wall, absorbing the warmth and the comfort of being safe.

Making her way back out to the bedroom, slowly as her ears roared and her vision wavered, Elliot smiled a little to see that Eric had been true to his word; folded neatly on the bed was a pair of jeans and a shirt, a leather belt curled on top of the two. He'd even managed to find underwear (the right size, strangely enough), though she realised that the jeans were for men on closer inspection. Still, they were better than the skirt and Elliot dressed herself as quickly as possible before falling onto the bed, pulling the damp towel with her as a blanket because she didn't have enough energy to get under the real one.

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><p>When she woke up the room was in complete silence. Elliot blinked, trying hard to grasp the quickly fleeing remnants of sleep before her mind turned and she wondered what had woken her; she'd definitely not slept enough, her bones felt like chronic toothache and her head felt even worse, her throat dry and her stomach cramping. With a wordless groan she turned over and forced herself to sit up, teeth gritted against the swaying in her stomach. It became clear then exactly what had woken her.<p>

It was Godric, standing quite still, his eyes hard on her but thoughtful. Elliot's own eyes widened and her grip tightened reflexively on the makeshift blanket. He didn't look remotely abashed, didn't look much of anything at all. Eric was nowhere in sight.

"Did I wake you?" he asked softly, his eyebrows twitching the tiniest bit.

Elliot shook her head but it was a lie. "Don't think so," she rasped before clearing her throat. "No. Not you. I guess I don't sleep well in unfamiliar houses." She didn't sleep well full stop, but Godric didn't need to know that.

"I can understand that," he told her quietly. "It is a method of self-preservation, I suppose - not trusting what you do not know." Which Elliot thought was a damn good instinct but Godric looked troubled by his own words. "Or perhaps it is something entirely yours, because of your gift," he added as an afterthought of a suggestion. "Eric told me what you are," the vampire explained as she frowned. "Or, he told me what you can do. He thought I might have some idea as to how you came about your abilities."

"Do you?" Elliot asked before she could stop herself, hopeful and nervous at the same time. "Have you ever met anyone like me?"

He was quiet for a moment. "I have lived for over two thousand years," Godric said as reply, "and I have heard of but one other like you."

"Who?"

He turned his head a twitch to the side and back again. "I do not recall the name – it was a long time ago," he told her apologetically. "I confess, I believed him to be legend or lie but I can sense it within you – your gift." His mouth turned slightly at one corner. "Eric says you call it your curse," he added and then looked at her very plainly, "but I would not dismiss it as such."

There was silence for a long moment after he'd spoken and Elliot glanced down at her hands. She understood, sort of, that her curse could be used for good, to help, but often – _too often_ – it hurt instead, and when she needed it most it never came. She would never forget the taunting, the hissed words – _demon, monster_ – of her childhood. She'd never forget how it surged when she was angry, how the boy had crumpled under the pebbles that had rained down on him, how his blood had stained the grass as he screamed for the nurse. He'd lived, but she'd ran – she'd ran away with her family and they'd ran every time there was an _incident_ and hissed whispers of _demon_started following her again. Perhaps that was where she'd learned to run in the first place, perhaps that was where it had all started. "Where's Eric?" Elliot asked abruptly, wanting to halt her thoughts before they carried her somewhere dark.

The vampire was watching her curiously but his words were casual and he didn't pry for her thoughts, which Elliot appreciated. "He is downstairs. I can take you to him, if you like." Godric took a small step backwards and lifted an arm to gesture towards the door. Elliot, grasping the headboard to aid her, slid off of the bed. She felt naked with no shoes to speak of but she moved closer to the ancient vampire all the same. Godric turned without a word and headed out of the room into a short corridor with two other doors coming off of it, both closed. "Guest bedrooms," she was told, as if Godric could tell she was wondering. "We don't have many human guests but perhaps now we might." He stopped suddenly and turned to her. "You are welcome in this Area, in this nest, any time you wish. You will always have friends here."

Elliot paused, looking at him, lost for words. "Thanks," she said eventually, pulling a smile over her lips. She didn't see herself going to Dallas _ever_again, but it was nice of Godric to extend the invitation nonetheless.

"I think," he added, looking at her very intently, "that you are good for Eric. He needs somebody to stop him, sometimes."

Elliot's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "We're not-" she was quick to try and point out, but Godric's lips curled.

"So he told me," he agreed. "But perhaps, in the future. When you are ready."

Elliot couldn't do much more than shake her head wordlessly. Godric had an unreadable look on his face but he didn't say anything else as he led her through the house, walking slowly so she would be able to keep up without difficulty.

"Elliot." Eric didn't raise his voice in any exclamation of happiness when he saw her but his mouth curled a bit and Elliot tipped her head at him, walking over a step behind Godric. Eric's eyes passed between the two of them and he arched a questioning eyebrow at Godric, who said nothing. They seemed to have some sort of conversation purely in expressions, however, and then Eric turned to Elliot. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit," she said bluntly.

"Well aren't _you_the life and soul of the party?" a voice spoke from behind and Elliot half-turned to see Stan sauntering over. "Are those my jeans?"

"They're mine," Godric told him and Elliot flushed a little, instantly uncomfortable with that knowledge though it made sense; of everyone here with extra clothes, Godric was probably the closest to her size they were going to get. It felt too intimate, though. Eric was looking down at her legs with an odd expression and Elliot frowned at him.

"Stop looking at me like that," she told him and he smirked, dragging his gaze to her face.

"Like what?" he asked innocently and Elliot rolled her eyes but she couldn't be bothered arguing with him, exhaustion trying its utmost to drag her into the floor.

"Where's Sookie?"

"Still recovering from her little cat fight," Stan smirked, glancing towards the blonde, who was standing talking to a girl Elliot had never seen before with fury across her features. "Shame you missed it."

Eric shot him a look that told him quite clearly to shut up and leave them alone and Stan strode away to find someone to drink from. Godric had disappeared from sight quite silently, leaving Elliot standing alone with Eric and completely lost for what to say. He was looking at her with an expression as unreadable as Godric's had been.

"This should never have happened this way," he said after a long moment of quiet. Elliot braced her back against one of the kitchen counters, hooking her elbows onto it so she wouldn't slip - her limbs still felt like painful cotton and her insides weren't as steady as she'd like them to be. Not that she had anything in her to vomit up, which was a relief because getting sick all over the expensive carpet would probably be one of the most mortifying experiences of her life, but the nausea wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Well it did," she said tiredly. "And everything turned out fine. Near enough." They'd found Godric, uncovered a traitor and realised just how dangerous an enemy was - it could very optimistically be called a success.

Eric's lips thinned. "You look about two days from death," he said sullenly. "Not to mention the fact that I've had to _forgive_a V user for his usefulness tonight, and I've got Bill preaching at me now as well."

"I'm fine," Elliot said, ticking it off on her finger. "Or, I will be in a few days. Forgiveness is supposed to be a virtue, and you're a big boy, Eric. I'm sure you can deal with Bill Compton."

Eric's eyebrows arched upwards but then he laughed, softly, and Elliot knew he wasn't as angry as he was trying to appear.

"And Godric's back," Elliot added. "So it was worth it." At least it better be, because Elliot felt like death warmed over and she didn't voluntarily put herself in that position for many things. How Eric and people Eric cared about had gotten to be one of those things, she didn't quite know. She wasn't sure yet how she felt about it, either - it was too close, too much and yet at this point she already knew it would hurt to pull away. That didn't mean she wouldn't, though.

"Yes," he agreed lowly. "It was." Because no matter the cost; to Eric, Godric would always be worth it.

They were quiet again for a moment and Elliot ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth, suddenly realising that she was horrendously thirsty, her thoughts still tangled on the vampire they'd saved and why he meant so much. Sookie had figured it out, of course; she'd asked Eric in the church but he hadn't given a straight answer then. He owed Elliot that much, at least, and she turned to him with a very stark expression.

"Is Godric your Maker?" she asked bluntly, looking him straight in the eye. "Is that why you care so much?"

Eric's mouth opened, probably to fob her off with some bullshit not-answer but something in Elliot's eyes must have stopped him. "Yes," he told her honestly, looking like even he was surprised by the answer he gave. "I would do anything for him."

Elliot nodded. "Good," she said after a moment. "I think you need someone like that. He told me sometimes you need someone to stop you, but I think you just need someone to remind you why you care."

His jaw twitched at that. "Don't mist-"

But whatever he was going to say was interrupted as Sookie noticed that Elliot was up and about and came hurrying over with a small cry of, "Elliot!"

The blonde's cheeks were flushed but she looked pretty pleased with herself and also very healthy, which Elliot almost resented her for because she knew full well that she looked awful. Sookie just seemed the sort of person who looked perfect no matter what was happening around her, the calm inside the storm. Her eyes were worried though, bright with it, and her mouth was hard with repressed anger.

Elliot tensed up when Sookie made to hug her and the telepath seemed to remember at the last moment that the past two days had been nothing less than hellish and refrained, patting her softly on the shoulder instead. Elliot was grateful for the restrain but even the pat hurt her aching skin, though she hid it behind a tense smile.

"How're you feeling?" Sookie asked sympathetically, and Elliot made a face.

"Better than I was," she said truthfully. "Glad to be away from those psychos. Glad Godric's not dead. Glad Eric didn't get cindered. Glad Gabe didn't...y'know." Elliot waved a hand at the blonde, not really wanting to go into the particulars. "Tired, though," she admitted after a second. "I'll be more glad than anything to go home."

"Yeah, me too," Sookie agreed at once, nodding. "Bill's bitch of a Maker just showed up, kinda put a dampner on the rest of the night, y'know? And these vampires aren't like our vampires," she added in a lowered tone, though Eric, who was still standing about a foot away, could obviously hear.

Neither he nor Elliot were comfortable with the term 'our vampires' but the former didn't want to get involved in the conversation and the latter couldn't be bothered to correct Sookie so the matter was left. The blonde was casting a look around the room with a slight frown. "Have any of you guys seen Jason? He was here a minute ago but..."

Elliot glanced around for the blonde's brother but there were too many people in the room, and too many rooms in the house. "I'm sure he's around somewhere," she said, looking back at Sookie. "Where's Bill?"

"Godric told him to escort his Maker out," Sookie replied, anger flashing in her eyes again. "He's probably right outside. Turns out she was holding him hostage which is why-"

She stopped talking abruptly as a silence fell, all eyes turning towards a newcomer at the door. Elliot was a second behind, turning only after she noticed Sookie's attention shift, but she found the guy everyone was looking at soon enough. He was wearing a bulky coat and a tense expression but his jaw was set, his hands steady. At the words _Fellowship of the Sun_ Elliot tensed, instinct welling inside her, pushing through the exhaustion and exploding as the guy ripped open his jacket.

When the bomb went off all Elliot saw was white as her power surged through her and exploded through her mind and when she screamed it drowned out the whole world.


	34. Cut Ties With All The Lies

_you could cut ties with all the lies_

_that you've been living in_

_and if you do not want to see me again_

_I would understand_

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><p>The pain was sudden, intense and inhuman, as though her very mind was trying to escape the confines of her skull and pull everything inside her with it. Like everything was being taken out and fire was being poured in, fire that ripped through everything she was and everything she would ever be, fire so hot its silence drowned out her screams and nothing Elliot could do would stop it. The air itself burned with it, a blistering white that kept the darkness and horror at bay as vampires and humans shrieked from outside, the building collapsing around them and still Elliot screamed.<p>

The whiteness had formed a perfect and unblemished barrier around her, Eric and Sookie that rubble and broken brick launched itself at but Elliot's will held even as her body shook. Eric had whirled to face her when the scream hit the air and he grabbed at her but she wouldn't (_couldn't_) stop and the barrier remained in place until the very last of the destruction had hit the floor and the whiteness broke, cracking like eggshell before shattering as though it had been made of delicate glass instead of iron will.

Elliot crumpled.

"Elliot!" Eric had dropped to his knees as she hit the floor, his face paler than usual as he gripped her wrists and tugged her closer to him. She scraped lifelessly over the stone floor and he pulled her upwards into a sitting position, almost choking on the thick scent of blood and smoke, his fangs clicking out, tearing at his lip where he was careless. "Elliot, Elliot come on. Come _on_."

She was covered in blood where it leaked from her ears and nose and mouth, soaking her hair and staining her skin scarlet. Eric swiped his thumb across the blood on her cheek and resisted the temptation to lick it away, fighting every instinct he had that said _feed_ because Elliot was dying in his arms and no instinct could prevail the overpowering _need_ for her stay alive - she wasn't _allowed_to die, not here, not like this, but he could hear her heartbeat slowly fluttering away.

"Elliot?" Sookie was sitting up, dazed and blinking as she stared around in horror. Nothing had hit her - Elliot had made sure of that - but the shock was evident on her face until she'd clapped eyes on her friend and it was replaced by something akin to terror. "What's wrong with her? Is she-"

Eric shook his head so hard his hair stung his eyes. "_No_," he growled. She was _not_dead and nor was she dying - Eric refused to allow it to happen, as if he could keep her alive through the sheer force of his own will. There was a second when everything froze and Eric's thoughts whirled; it was the only option, of course, but she would hate him for it.

Not that he had much choice. He could either do it and have her hate him, or let her die. Eric didn't even have to think about it. He lifted his wrist to his mouth, slashing into the skin that covered blue veins, blood spilling out of the wound like it was desperate to escape, like his blood knew somehow how important this was.

"Eric!" Sookie gasped, grabbing his bleeding wrist in an attempt to stop him but Eric was a thousand years old and no human could restrain him; he pushed the blood against Elliot's mouth even as Sookie shrieked at him and tried to pull his hand back, bleeding into her until the liquid dripped down the side of her lips to mingle with her own. "What are you doing?" Sookie cried out, and Eric shook her off, grabbing Elliot's chin and forcing her mouth closed, swallowing hard against the thirst that was demanding to be quenched in the face of so much blood.

"I'm saving her life," he growled roughly, yanking Elliot's head back until her mouth was clear of the blood and she'd swallowed it, involuntarily, out of her own control - she was going to despise him.

"She...Eric you can't...this is _Elliot_, she's going to-"

"Hate me?" Eric cut in with a harsh, humourless laugh. "Let her. At least she won't be dead." He was disgusted with himself though, because he'd promised himself that this would be her choice, that she would _want_ him, and in the end she hadn't even been conscious when it happened. Eric slid out from underneath her, lying her on the stone floor - it was the only patch of the room unaffected by the blast and yet right here was the greatest tragedy of the thing. The vampire got to his feet and scowled, anger blooming inside him for no reason other than that this situation had gone officially to shit and he hated it, he hated losing control, he hated _having_ to do something and he hated it even more that Elliot would hate it too. She'd hate it more than he did. _I didn't have a choice_. "I have to find Godric," he told Sookie coldly, turning away. "Don't tell her what's happened. It will be best coming from me."

Sookie stared after him as he strode through the wreckage to find his Maker, grabbing Elliot's cold hand and using her sleeve to try and wipe away some of the blood that covered her face. She was still limp and unconscious but her face wasn't deathly pale anymore, and the blood had stopped dripping from her ears and nose. Eric had saved her; she wouldn't die, but he had the right of it - Sookie didn't think Elliot would be able to forgive something like this.

She hadn't even begun trying to think about what she could say when Elliot stirred. Sookie's grip on her hand tightened and Elliot's breath gushed out like it was her last but then her eyes opened and she started shaking, shivering so hard her teeth clacked together. "C-c-cold," Elliot managed to force out, letting out a groan and dragging one arm up to try and wrap it around herself but she lost the energy for it halfway there and left her hand lying limp across her stomach. "W-what h-ha-happened?"

"You saved us," Sookie told her quietly. "But you almost killed yourself."

Elliot's lips pulled upwards a fraction, but the movement caused a little more blood to slide out onto her skin so the effect was far from reassuring. "D-Didn't mean t-to," she forced out, turning her head to the side as she choked, spitting out blood that she assumed was her own. She could feel it in her nose and at the back of her throat, even in her ears where she had lost control of her power, lost complete control. It felt disgusting but Elliot simply didn't have the energy to try and get rid of it, collapsing back onto the floor after she'd coughed out as much as she could, feeling sick and faint but miraculously alive.

"Well, don't do it again," Sookie said, looking around and leaving Elliot's side for a second to grab a throw from one of the couches, throwing over her friend's shivering body. "We were worried sick."

_We_. "Where's Eric?" Elliot forced out quickly, horrified that she'd forgotten about him, something deep inside her plummeting as the thought occurred but - _no_. No, Eric couldn't be dead, he'd been standing right by them, surely the shield had enclosed him as well? But as her eyes flickered to the side he was notable only for his absence and her heart began to hammer, Elliot struggling to pull herself into a sitting position, sick with fear.

"He's fine." Sookie said quickly, a hand on her shoulder. "He's gone to find Godric but he's fine, you saved him too."

"Jason?"

"I saw him just now - he's helping the others," Sookie told her calmly, fingers tightening reassuringly.  
>Elliot relaxed a little but her heart was still thudding erratically, as if to make up for what it had lost moments before. "Can we just go home please?" she said eventually, tiredly.<p>

"Yes, of course," Sookie said at once. "But...you need to talk to Eric first. You _really_need to talk to Eric, before we leave. It'll be best if you do before we leave - sooner rather than later. He just really needs to speak to you."

Elliot frowned. "What, why? I thought you said he was f-"

"He is fine," Sookie assured her, then bit her lip. "It's not for me to say - it's between you and him, you just _really_need to talk to him."

For a second Elliot's frown deepened and then she went so pale so suddenly that it was a little alarming. "No," she muttered, the fingers of her right hand pressed against her mouth. "Oh god, no - please tell me he...he didn't, _shit_, please Sook tell me that's not what it is, oh god, oh my god-" She had to cut herself off as she doubled over, trembling again as she retched but nothing came up. "_Please_ no - he wouldn't, he wouldn't. Where the fuck is he? Where the _fuck_is he?"

"He went to find Godric," Sookie told her, panicked, hands fluttering uselessly as she wondered what to do. "I don't know where he is, he must be around here somewhere, he wanted to tell you himself, he-"

Elliot was already dragging herself up, shaking but still standing, glaring around with fire in her eyes but the blond vampire was nowhere to be seen. "I can't...I can't believe this," Elliot muttered, dazed. "I can't believe he...after _everything_..." She shook her head, shoulders falling in defeat as anger, horror and a terrible sadness pooled somewhere inside her, settling with worry and guilt that felt even deeper than her anger despite the fact that she didn't even know what she was feeling guilty about. Had she accidentally killed someone when her power blasted out? Elliot wondered on it for a second before deciding that, right now, she really didn't want to know.

"I'm going home," she said flatly. "Fuck Eric. If he wanted to talk to me he should've stuck around, I'm done with him and I'm _done_with vampires and all their fucking weirdness."

She staggered backwards, wrenched the blanket from around her shoulders and tossed it to the floor. She was getting out of there, she was going to get the fuck away and forget the hell about Eric and Godric and _everything_ because she was a damn fool for thinking that maybe this time things would work out - things _never_worked out and she ought to bloody well know that by now. Sookie was calling after her, dithering between helping Elliot and finding Bill and Jason. In the end Elliot was alone when she reached the outside, Sookie having decided that the best course of action would be to find Bill and Jason and get them to help her with the brunette.

By the time she'd found even one of them Elliot was long gone. She struck out along a road and just started walking, the chill night air reviving her and, she suspected, Eric's blood as it started working properly, giving her cheeks colour and her body warmth. Her emotions were roiling inside her, guilt poisoning her anger, worry staining her sadness. It took a long time before she realised that it wasn't _her_ guilt and it wasn't _her_worry but Eric's she was feeling and by then she'd reached what she supposed was the high street of whatever town this was.

The realisation made her angry enough that his guilt died back a bit and she startled again to realise that Eric could probably feel her fury as well. _Good_. If she wasn't going to get the chance to tell him to his face how much she fucking hated him right now at least he knew anyway.

Elliot came to a halt in the street and shouldered open a call box, staring blankly at the receiver before realising she didn't have any change. She didn't have anything - everything was back at the hotel, and everything else had been taken from her at the Light of Day Institute. She had _nothing_, standing in a call box in the middle of a strange town, in borrowed clothes and barefoot, anger and misery warring inside her and she sat down there and then in the damn call box and buried her face in her hands.

_Idiot_.

What the hell was she going to do now? She could go back, but the thought of seeing Eric after what he'd done made her feel sick and she wasn't ready to face him just yet - didn't know if she'd be ready to face him _ever_- and the likelihood of Sookie choosing the exact same path to follow as she had was nil. So Elliot sat, shaking and angry and holding back tears, until she had calmed down enough to think and formed a sort-of plan.

Out on the street again, Elliot waited until a cab was driving by, flagged it down and convinced the driver to take her to Hotel Carmilla, promising to pay him once they got there. The guy took pity on her, gesturing her in and turning the heating up because she was still shaking. He didn't ask any questions, which Elliot was thankful for, and simply stared straight ahead for the entire ride, leaving Elliot to her thoughts.

When he pulled up outside Elliot clambered out and bent down to look at him through the open window. "If you wait here just a sec, I'll-"

"Don't worry," the driver said, turning to her with sad eyes and looking her up and down. Elliot didn't even want to think about what she must look like right now, skin red with dried blood, her hair matted with it, barefoot and shivering. "I...I've seen your sort before. I'm sorry," he said abruptly, looking awkward. "I'm sorry it happens. I'm just glad to help. Go inside, love. Be safe."

Elliot didn't know what to say, the small gesture of his kindness almost bringing her to her knees as her emotions welled and she swallowed hard. "Thank you," she said thickly, her fingers tight on the door of the car. She forced herself to loosen them, heart hammering at the fact that Eric might be just inside that building, and she took a step back. "Thank you," she said again, eyes glittering before she turned away and the cab disappeared down the road.

_Pull yourself together_, she told herself harshly, swiping a furious hand over her face, not even noticing that the bruises that had decorated her face less than an hour ago had already healed. Elliot pulled her shoulders up and lifted her chin before marching through the doors. Heads turned to stare at her in shock as she passed by and a few vampires sidled closer, fangs a threat as they smiled but Elliot tuned them out and headed straight for the elevator, punching the button with a finger and waiting impatiently for it to arrive.

She rode up to her floor in nervous silence; nobody else climbed in with her the whole way up and Elliot was still alone as she stepped out onto the right floor. It was only when she was standing uselessly outside the door to V3 that she realised she had no card and no way in. Elliot tried knocking but either Eric wasn't in there or he was ignoring her.

Her fist hit the wall before she'd even registered that she was angry, and Elliot spent a moment trying to dissect whether it was her anger or Eric's and was only infuriated further when she realised that she couldn't tell. The small commotion had one door opening, though, and Elliot heard footsteps quick in the corridor, too light to be Eric.

"Eric?" It was Sookie, turning the corner and gasping when she saw Elliot, running forwards. "Elliot! You made it back, oh thank god - we had no idea where you were!"

"Yeah, I made it back," Elliot said quietly before she reaching back to rap her knuckles against the door. "Can't get in though."

"Bill had a spare card for Eric's room, let me go find it," Sookie told her brightly, jerking her head to indicate that Elliot should follow. She did, slowly and somewhat reluctantly; she'd been hoping to slip away unnoticed and unseen but now she was going to have to think of some way to say goodbye and she'd always been bad at that. She'd never even said a proper goodbye to her parents; she'd ran away so soon after their deaths and since then hadn't had the time to stop and grieve and make her peace with everything that had happened.

Peace, Elliot had realised quickly enough, was not something she was never going to get in abundance.

"You shouldn't have run off like that," Sookie was scolding as she opened her own door and walked inside, looking around as Elliot hovered in the doorway. "Anything could've happened to you – there are _bad_ people out there, worse than vampires, some of them," the blonde added as she walked back over to Elliot, card in hand. _Yeah, don't I know it_, she thought, but Elliot didn't say anything except, "Thanks" as she took the card and backed away.

"Where are you going to go?" Sookie asked quietly, standing in her doorway and watching Elliot with eyes that _knew_ the other woman wasn't planning on sticking around long enough to hear Eric out.

"Away," Elliot said roughly. "The fuck _away_. I don't care where." She never did care until she ended up there and even then it rarely mattered; usually she was planning on leaving as soon as she arrived. Bon Temps had been the first place she'd decided to stick around in for a while, but it only went to show her that she couldn't ever stop, couldn't trust anyone, couldn't let anyone get close. They'd only hurt her in the end.

Sookie bit her lip. "You know, Eric...he was-"

"Don't," Elliot cut her off, eyes narrow. "Don't try and justify what he did."

"Be careful," the blonde said instead, looking very much like she was trying to hold it together. "And come back. As soon as you're ready. This isn't goodbye, okay? It's just...just for now."

Elliot forced herself to smile and nod but it was all a lie as she turned away and opened the door to Eric's room to grab her things. It was a lie because she was never coming back; she didn't want to see Eric again because she knew that if she did, no matter how angry she was, she'd _want_ to forgive him and she'd _want_ to hear him tell her it was all because he couldn't bear to let her go and it scared her. It scared her that she wanted that, because Eric was far too close – she'd realised it when Newlin had tried to kill him and now this had hammered it home and Elliot wasn't okay with it, didn't know how to deal with it. Elliot didn't know how to deal with anything except by running away from it, so that was what she was going to do.

Her things were thrown roughly into her suitcase after she'd changed into her own clothes and pulled on her boots, wrapped her jacket around her shoulders. She left the card on Eric's pillow slammed the door behind her, to remind herself with the bang that this was it, no matter how desperate she was to hold onto Eric and tell him that she didn't _mind_ if only he cared too. If he cared for her like she'd accidentally started caring for him, but she couldn't allow herself that. Eric was...Eric. He _didn't_ care, and Elliot needed to stop caring herself before it destroyed her.

It always did, in the end. Caring was never an advantage.

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><p><strong>AN: I never meant to end this chapter here but it was getting long so I figured it would have to do. <strong>

**I was always planning on having Eric give Elliot his blood this way so I hope people don't mind – I know there's often a thing against OCs taking this part from Sookie but the way this fic is at this point there's just no way Eric would try getting his blood into Sookie and, no offence to Sookie, Elliot wouldn't have been stupid enough to suck bullets out of him. **

**The title is from Jumper by Third Eye Blind.**

**I hope you guys liked it – please drop me a review to let me know what you thought, whether you liked it or hated it, it's always good to know. I do want to point out that this isn't the end, there are a bunch of chapters to come and I also totally stole the last line from BBC's Sherlock and changed the tense of it because why not?**


	35. Something's Gonna Give

_and I don't know if I've ever been really loved_

_by a hand that's touched me,_

_well I feel like something's gonna give_

_and I'm a little bit angry_

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><p>Elliot leant against the door of the room for a second, allowing heavy lids to slide shut as she took a second to feel how tired she was. Everything in her wanted to collapse and sleep for days and days but she didn't have that luxury. The sun would be up soon; then she'd have several hours during which time Eric would not be able to come after her and they were the best chance she had at a clean break from everything. She wouldn't have to say goodbye, or explain herself, or summon the energy to scream at the vampire the way she wanted to; she could just turn and run, the way she always did.<p>

"Elliot?"

It was Sookie, hurrying down the corridor towards her. It took Elliot a too-long moment to realise that the reason the blonde looked so worried was because she'd slid down the door somehow, floating on the blissful numbness that was not quite sleep but not quite reality. She jerked upright, shaking her head a little and flattening both palms against the floor so she could push herself up. She gave a small, apologetic smile and swiped a hand over her face to try and clear away some of the fog the need for sleep had poisoned her mind with.

"Sorry," Elliot said in a slightly raspy voice, clearing her throat. "Guess I dozed off for a second."

Sookie's eyes were wide and her face showed a multitude of emotions as they paraded over her features in turn; worry, regret, sorrow, guilt, others that Elliot couldn't define until the waitress settled with a mix of several that left her with tight eyes and a tighter mouth. "I'm glad you're still here, actually," the woman confided, white teeth worrying at her lower lip for a second.

"What's wrong?" Elliot asked, blinking hard and pulling her eyes wide. She had a long time yet to stay awake; drifting away now, even just in thought, wasn't acceptable.

"It's Godric," Sookie told her with quiet breathlessness. "And...and Eric, too." Elliot's expression hardened into as much of a frown as she could muster, her eyes growing colder.

"What about him?" And, though she hated herself for it, she was terrified for the answer. Had the Fellowship come back and taken him? Did they have him locked away somewhere, his last minutes counting down until the faithful sunrise coloured the world again? She needed to hate him, because of what he did and because she needed to pull away and it was going to hurt enough as it was but even Elliot could not deny the small part of her that ached with grief for losing him already and she'd not even walked away yet.

Sookie took a breath, seeming to steel herself. "Godric's going to meet the sun," she said in a rush and Elliot's heart dropped out.

"Eric's not-?" she choked, the world suddenly starkly black and white and grey and fading and _not worth it_and Elliot pushed her hand out against the wall to support herself as a wave of something nameless and horrible washed through her.

"No," Sookie said quickly, shaking her head. "No, not Eric. He's not - he's not going to stay up there. But's he's...I mean, Godric's his Maker," she said carefully, watching Elliot closely. "He's torn up about it even if he'd never admit it to anyone. Except...except you, Elliot." Sookie paused for a second but her companion said nothing. "He needs you. Not me or Bill or Isabel or anyone else who thinks they can stand beside him and make it better. You're the one he listens to, Elliot. He c-"

"_Don't_," Elliot cut her off harshly. "Don't say he cares. Please don't." She couldn't stand that, refused to hear it because Elliot was not equipped to deal with such a notion spoken aloud. She wasn't equipped to deal with it even when it was a traitorous thought lurking in the shadowy corners of her mind. "I don't think I _can_, Sookie. I can't face him. I can't...if he needed me..." She waited for a second, wishing the words she needed to express herself would come but they never did. "He doesn't. Eric's..._Eric_. He doesn't need anyone." _Like I don't need anyone_. And maybe she didn't, but sometimes she wanted someone, anyone, to look her in the eye and tell her it would be alright. Tell her that they cared. Tell her that she wasn't alone, that she didn't have to be any more. Sometimes she even let herself acknowledge that she wanted that someone to be Eric. And a tiny part of her acknowledged that maybe Eric wanted that someone to be her.

"He _thinks_he doesn't need anyone," Sookie corrected, looking at Elliot in a way that made her think that the telepath was fairly good at reading people even when she couldn't hear their thoughts. "I know you're angry at him but...he needs help right now, Elliot, help I can't give. I can...I don't know, I can be there for Godric but there's nothing I could ever do to get through to Eric."

_What makes you think I ever could_? Elliot almost asked, just because a part of her wanted to hear somebody say it and confirm that it wasn't a fanciful notion of hers but couldn't. "If I see him..." she started, looking away and swallowing as she tried not to think about what she'd have to say so she could run this time. "If I see him I'll have to speak to him." _I'll have to say goodbye_. Elliot didn't think she was strong enough to do that, not after everything. Not after realising with a sickening jolt just _how_ much she cared because he'd been about to die in front of her, not after waking up to realise that some part of her, the part that her power crept within, cared enough about Eric to waste the last energy she had on making sure he remained unharmed. Only then to learn that he'd betrayed her, forced himself inside her in a way that could never be healed, not just inside her head and her heart but her _blood_. Her feelings. Feelings were something she'd guarded so closely, keeping clutched to her chest like precious stones; they'd been all Michael had left her after he'd taken everything else from her, everything she loved. He'd controlled everything, but not that. She felt how she felt and those feelings, no matter how much they hurt, were _hers_. But now Eric had them - he'd _taken _them the way Michael had taken everything else and it made her sick because she _knew_ he done it for her, she _knew_ she was standing here now because he'd done it, but still it burned her with fury and betrayal and _hurt_because that had been all she had left and now she had nothing.

"I can't, Sookie," she whispered, the loudest voice she could muster as she dragged her thoughts away from the downward spiral they'd slipped onto. "I can't see him. I can't speak to him. I can't say _goodbye_." Her voice cracked on the last word and she turned violently away, blinking fiercely as she mentally scolded herself.

_Crying won't do you any good, babe. I told you god-fucking-_damn_-it and you didn't listen_. Michael's face cracked across the backs of her eyelids as she closed them, his mouth stretched wide with a smile that wasn't his, his knuckles red and his eyes blank with the dimness that alcohol awoke in him. Elliot opened her eyes and swallowed hard. Sookie was looking at her with a heart-wrenching pity that only made her feel worse.

"Tell him..." she began, but she had nothing to tell him and everything to tell him and words could encompass neither of those things. Elliot shook her head. "No, it doesn't matter." By the time he realised she was gone she'd be far away, hopefully, so she could almost convince herself that it really didn't matter.

"Elliot," Sookie sighed in a way that was two seconds from tears and then she pulled the other woman into a quick, hard hug before releasing her and blinking back her own tears. "I'll see you soon." With a small sniff that she tried to cover up with a tiny laugh of casualness, Sookie turned quickly away and headed down the corridor to the elevator, stepped inside and disappeared.

Elliot straightened up, grabbed her suitcase and turned in the opposite direction. She stepped into the elevator at the other end of the hallway and pressed the button for the ground floor, leaning against the wall as it slipped downwards. Elliot pulled in a deep breath, forcing herself to keep her eyes open and trying to force her mind to remain alert. She felt like she could fall over at any minute; in fact there was a large part of her that wanted to just so she could sleep.

The elevator stopped and the doors slid open and Elliot's heart stopped. Eric was framed in the doorway, his skin so pale it was like milk, the skin around his eyes red, his shoulders hunched. He caught his breath when he saw her and Elliot was slammed quite suddenly with a longing need for him, a need to forgive him and hold him and comfort him because somehow that would make everything okay. All that mattered was that Eric was _there_and he was with her and she could see him and hold him and if that was true then nothing else in the world would matter.

The sensation was stronger than she'd ever have expected it to be and Elliot had to take a second to remind herself that that must be his blood, singing at the sight of him, the nearness of him.

"Elliot," he said, his voice low and burdened with a thousand years of grief that had found him at the same moment in time and that moment was the sunrise.

"Eric," was all she could reply. She was floored by how vulnerable he looked, how much it hurt her to see him like that, how confused she was inside as everything warred and twisted until she didn't know which emotions were hers, which were his and which were simply side-effects of the blood inside her.

"Elliot, I-" He took a step forwards and Elliot took a step back, shaking her head. She needed to go, now, run run _run_ but she couldn't because he was right there. And if she said goodbye he'd never let her leave, not before he'd explained himself and if Elliot listened to his words and his promises she knew she'd stay because she _wanted_to and it was only fear and experience and the determination to never fall in love again that was driving her away this time.

"Not now," she said quickly, hating herself because it was lies, it would all be lies because not now was never and now was all they had; now was their eternity, the one moment that stretched between them in the emptiness where Elliot wouldn't say goodbye and she couldn't promise that she'd stay forever. "Go to Godric. You have to...you have to say goodbye," she said, swallowing as she tried to keep her voice steady. "I'll talk to you later."

And even through the turmoil inside her she felt Eric's relief that she was giving him a chance, that she wasn't going to turn her back and cut ties and Elliot hated herself for a moment because when she lied like that, when she did it knowing it would hurt him later, how was she any better than Michael? But then she caught a grip on herself, reminded herself that she'd come this far, that she'd gotten away, by chasing her instincts and fleeing when they told her to and right now they told her that if she didn't leave now it would hurt more and Elliot had been hurt too much for one lifetime to welcome more, no matter what it promised in return.

"I'm sorry," she managed to choke out before the doors slid shut on him and the elevator continued downwards. She felt him flicker for a moment with confusion before he resolved himself and his grief hardened into something she could almost ignore as Eric continued up and Elliot sank further down.

She moved through the lobby as though in a dream, using one of the phones there to call a cab to take her to the airport. When it arrived she clambered inside and let herself drift away in the backseat as Dallas flashed by outside. The cab driver grabbed her suitcase for her when they arrived and set it down on the sidewalk as Elliot rooted through her purse for cash, handing it over to him before turning and walking into the airport.

The flight she needed wasn't for several hours and half of Elliot despaired because she only had a single day to get cleanly away before Eric confused everything but the other half welcomed the time to sleep in an uncomfortable metal chair that was bolted to the floor.

She slumped onto one of the benches, tucking her suitcase beneath the seat and pushing her feet against it. She was tired to the bone but the sun was rising and though she wanted to sleep she watched as the light inched across the floor, pale and unforgivable. Somewhere out there, Godric had turned to dust. Somewhere inside her, Eric crumbled into a thousand pieces. Somewhere along the way, Elliot forgot that she was doing this so it wouldn't hurt any more because it hurt so much now she didn't know if it could ever be worth it. She knew how to run away, she knew that she was scared to love or to care and Elliot clung to those; they were tiny truths in a world where even her feelings were not her own, and she pressed her hands against her face because tears were welling in her eyes and for once, nothing she did could stop them from falling.

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><p><strong>AN: I am still alive...just.<strong>

**Sorry this is such a short and filler-y chapter - I'm trying to work out the sequence of events in my head and it's being frustratingly uncooperative so...just kind of read it without thinking too much of the timeline of the show; eventually it'll all match up again but for now it's a bit of a mess. **

**Provided I can think of a way to join this chapter and the next in some form of timely fashion, the next wait won't be as long as this one because a lot of what comes next is written; it's just joining it all up that's difficult.**

**Thank you so much to anyone who is still reading, I promise there will be more interaction in the next chapter - this was a lot of inner reflection and nothingness that sort of had to go somewhere and it ended up here. Sorry again! **

**The title is from Push by Matchbox Twenty. Thanks again if you've read this; if you're feeling particularly charitable feel free to leave a review to let me know what you thought! **


	36. Nothing's Going Right

_'cause nothing's going right_

_and everything's a mess_

_and no one likes to be alone_

* * *

><p>The wait and the flight both passed in a blur of not-quite-sleeping but even so, when Elliot stepped off the small plane at Shreveport, she felt a lot better than she had leaving the Hotel Carmilla. Eric had long since gone to ground and her feelings were once again entirely her own - for the next few hours, at least. She intended to use those hours to get the hell away without the strange longing for the damn vampire that had ignited somewhere inside her messing things up and beckoning her back. It was difficult walking away even with him asleep; Elliot's own feelings were confused enough without Eric's adding to the mix.<p>

No matter how many times she told herself, _promised_ herself, that leaving now was the best option, the only option she could be sure would work, some part of Elliot, a part she was desperately trying to ignore, knew that it was a terrible mistake. Eric had worked his way under her skin despite her best intentions and seeing him so vulnerable to death had jolted that realisation firmly awake inside her and now she couldn't deny that it was there.

It scared her.

Eric was not Michael. "He's _not_," she muttered to herself, even as she yanked on her suitcase and flagged down a taxi outside, running her hand through her hair as she squinted against the glare of the sun. "Bon Temps, please," Elliot mentioned as she leaned down towards the driver's window. He nodded, popping the lever for the trunk so she could throw her case in the back before clambering inside and buckling her seatbelt. But while Eric wasn't Michael, Michael hadn't been _Michael_ at first, either.

In fact, for three years Elliot had been hopelessly in love with him and it had _still_ turned to shit. Eric was a _vampire_ for the love of God - he was _made_ to hurt people, that was nature's entire reason for him existing, so what the hell made her think he would never hurt her? Absently, Elliot's fingertips rubbed at the ring finger of her left hand, eyes narrowed at her own gesture as she stared down at her lap. _Love_. It was a fucking joke - life's greatest punchline and it had sure punched her.

Elliot almost flinched at her internal joke before she shook her head lightly, lips curling into a mirthless smirk. _Never again_. She was going to get her car from Sookie's, drive home and pack her stuff and then she was _gone_. No more excuses, no more maybes - she was leaving, she couldn't afford to look back, to regret, to think of Eric's hand in hers, to think of the way his presence beside her had kept the nightmares at bay while she slept. She couldn't think of the fact that for the first time in a long time her curse felt like it could almost be the gift she'd always wished it was, that for the first time in a long time she had a life and a job and people she cared enough about that it hurt to leave them behind. Even her house...it wasn't much, in fact it was barely anything at all, but it was _hers_ and it was _home_.

She hadn't had a place to call home in too long, running from motel to short-term rental property to motel and back again. Bon Temps had become home even in the short time she'd been there and in truth that was starting to hurt more than the idea of saying goodbye to Eric. It had been so _nice_ to think of going home after a day at work, after a day of teasing away Jason's terrible attempts at flirting with her and Hoyt's sweet but bumbling attempts to brush along well with everyone.

"What the _fuck_?" The driver was staring out the window at what Elliot came to realise several seconds after she probably should have was Bon Temps - the very home she'd been thinking of.

"That was-" she started to say, intending to finish the sentence with _quick_ because she'd been too lost in thought to notice the time passing as they drove, but the sight of the town stole her breath in surprise until all she could manage was a lame repetition, eyes wide. "What the fuck," she concurred, sitting forward in her seat to stare out the window.

"Look, love, I ain't meanin' nothin' but I-"

"Don't worry," Elliot cut him off, grabbing in her purse for her wallet and handing him all the cash she had left on her. "I can walk from here." The place was utterly trashed; she could hardly blame him for not wanting to coax his car through the damage for fear that it would suffer the same fate.

The sun was hot overhead and Elliot blew a gust of breath across her face as she grabbed her case from the trunk and slapped the metal to signal to the driver that he could leave. He waved out the window before disappearing in a growl of engine and dust cloud that Elliot had to wave away so it wouldn't settle in her hair. She turned in a slow circle, eyes wider than ever as she took the place in.

The street was deserted, which was odd but not unheard of, but that didn't even remotely compare to the wreckage. Broken glass glittered like stars across the road from smashed windows, paint was slashed over walls and doors were hanging off their hinges, the shops behind them ransacked and broken. She started walking, glancing suspiciously over her shoulders with every step, staring around and feeling ten times more alert than she had two minutes ago.

"Whoa!" she bit out a startled cry, leaping back a step as a couple came staggering from behind a building, clinging to each other and giggling shrilly. "Hey - excuse me! Hey - what's going on here?" The couple didn't even notice her, stopping in their drunken sprint across the street to slam against the side of the building opposite Elliot, grabbing hungrily at each other, stripping their clothes off in the middle of the street without a care in the world. "What...the..._fuck_. _HEY_!"

That caught their attention, the two breaking apart and swinging around to stare about for the distraction. Two pairs of solid black eyes landed on Elliot and she swiftly regretted calling out because this was _fucked up_ and those eyes were the flat sort of emotionless that drink awoke in Michael and she _really_ didn't want to think about that right now. "Alright is this some sort of trick?" she asked, frowning and backing up a step, dragging her case. "Like Punk'd or something?" She was pretty sure that show had been cancelled but that was the only rational explanation for this.

"New girl!" the woman crowed, taking an unsteady step forwards with a cackle that gave Elliot goosebumps. The man was licking his lips, leering across at her as he was dragged along by his wrist, his jeans open at the fly and hanging half off his hips. "Newwww girl!"

"Why the _fuck_ can't _anything_ go _right_?" Elliot seethed under her breath, taking another step back and putting her suitcase between herself and the couple, not that it would do much good if they went for her. She flexed her fingers at her sides, wondering if she had enough control over herself to push them back with a wave of energy or if she'd end up deep-frying them. "What's going on here? Where is everyone?" she called out, figuring that if these two were here and leering she might as well get as much out of them as she could.

The couple stopped, both clinging to each other again as though they wouldn't be able to remain upright otherwise. "He's coming," the man stated with a giddy sort of breathlessness, giggling to himself. "He's gonna come - soon. _ Soon_."

"He?" Elliot repeated, heart thumping a little more determinedly now because if this was a joke then it was pretty damn deep and it seemed a little too intricate right now to be anything other than reality. "Who's he? Coming where? _Here_? Why?"

"_Questions_," the woman huffed, rolling her head back as though her neck had simply lost the ability to hold it up. "_Him_. It's _him_, he's coming. _God_."

"Oh, good," Elliot nodded sarcastically. "There's a few things I've been meaning to ask him, actually."

The man nodded eagerly, and sunlight glinted off red blood on the side of his head, still bleeding sluggishly though he didn't seem in the least perturbed by it. "But we gotta get Sam first," he told her conspiratorially as the woman he was with threw her head back again and laughed raucously up at the sky.

"Sam?" Elliot questioned, shifting back as they moved a step closer. "Sam Merlotte?"

"Yesss! _Sam_!" The two caught each other's gaze and at once were joined again at the lips, their arms wrapping them into an embrace that probably couldn't have been broken by a hurricane and Elliot took the opportunity to back the hell away, more carrying her suitcase than dragging it as she jogged down the street.

After checking that she hadn't been followed, Elliot pressed her back against a wall and pushed the heels of her palms against her eyes. This was a dream. This could _only_ be a dream because there was no other explanation for this unless someone had drugged the entire water supply and had managed to hit the whole town with it in the few days Elliot had been gone. For the first time since leaving the hotel, she wished she'd come back with Sookie or someone because being alone in the middle of this _sucked_.

"Car," Elliot said firmly, nodding to herself as she pushed herself upright. She'd get her car, go home, pack up and leave and forget this craziness like she'd been planning to do before. She didn't have _time_ to deal with this - the hours until dark were steadily ticking away and Elliot couldn't afford to let Eric wake up while she was still here.

She started trudging across the road, keeping a wary eye on her surroundings. Twice she was almost ran down by people charging through the streets but they either didn't notice her or didn't care about her presence because she was ignored by them altogether, despite her frantically beating heart. Sookie's house wasn't exactly far away from the outskirts of town but it was certainly enough of a trek to be a bother when one factored in the heat, the heavy suitcase and oh, the weird, stoned residents of the town who cackled madly and often had _blood_ running down their faces or hands and didn't seem in the least bothered by it.

And what the hell did they want with Sam? Elliot's tongue moved out to run along her bottom lip as she thought about it. They weren't going to hurt him...surely? He was _Sam_, everyone loved him - there was no _reason_ to hurt him, but all of the people she'd seen so far had been headed in the direction of Merlotte's, without a doubt.

Elliot stopped walking, shaking her head to herself as she chewed on her lip. _Just leave_. That was her plan; that was her plan and she was sticking to it. But what if Sam had no idea? What if Morgan had caught whatever had the rest of the town acting so crazy? What if Sookie came home and walked right into it?

"Ugh, _fuck_," she cursed, kicking furiously at some loose rubble from the side of the road. She didn't have her cell but half the windows to the shops were smashed; it was easy enough to step through the openings and slip behind the counter of the nearest one to grab the phone. Elliot dialled Morgan first because she knew the number by heart, leaning against the wall as it rang, keeping a watchful eye on the street outside.

She picked up after three rings. "_Hello_?"

"Morgan!" Elliot gasped out, breathing out a sigh of relief that could have floored her.

"_Oh my god, Elliot! Where _are_ you, I've been trying to call you_-"

"I lost my cell - listen, you need to get of town like, yesterday, some crazy sh-"

"_Yeah, yeah I know - me and Jerry clocked out this morning, we've been inside all weekend but-_" Morgan started to say and Elliot stood bolt upright.

"_Jerry_?" she asked worriedly. "Who's _Jerry_?"

"_You know - Jerry. From that club. We uh...we kind of hit it off_," Morgan admitted, though Elliot could hear the half-smile in her voice. She closed her eyes, shaking her head slowly. Morgan was a big girl now - she could take care of herself.

"Right, Jerry," she said. "Right. Where are you now?"

"_Driving - where are _you?"

"In town," Elliot told her, ducking back a little so a rack of shelves obscured her from view as somebody else went staggering past outside. "I'm getting the fuck out of here, though. I don't know what's going on but I don't plan on sticking around long enough to find out."

"_Good_," Morgan said, and then, "_Wait, pull in here I need to pee_."

"What?"

"_I was just talking to Jerry - he has a place in Arizona, we're going to stay there for a while, then I'll probably hit the road again._"

Elliot nodded, though Morgan couldn't see that. It was one of the reasons they'd fallen into an easy acquaintanceship, and after that friendship; neither could stay in one place too long. She knew what Morgan meant, knew that the other woman wouldn't look back towards Louisiana, only forwards. They'd both known that it would come to this sooner or later; it wasn't any painful kind of goodbye. They understood each other, the need to move on and keep moving, and Elliot wasn't about to shed tears over it. She'd miss the blonde's bouncy presence, but it wasn't like they were sisters. "Stay safe, okay?"

"_You too_," Morgan said at once, and Elliot heard the click of a car door opening. "_Hey, are you seeing that hot blond giant from Fangtasia_?"

"What? No!" Elliot replied instantly, her stomach dropping a little at the thought of Eric even as her heart clenched. "No, it's...it's not like that. We're not - I'm not...he's...it's uh, it's complicated," she managed to get out eventually, shaking her head to herself. "We're not, um. We're not together."

"_Oh yeah, sure - sounds like it_," Morgan said knowingly before giving a soft sigh. "_I need to pee, and Elliot - you need to get out of there. Whatever was happening...it was weird. Like, sci-fi weird. Get out of there, and stay safe. And...call me, yeah?_"

"Yeah," Elliot told her. "Yeah I will. Of course."

"_See you around_?"

"See you around." The phone clicked off and Elliot set it down in its holder, pinching the bridge of her nose as she let out a long breath. At least Morgan was safe, that was something. Sam, Elliot wasn't so sure of. She ducked beneath the counter, pulling open a few drawers and shifting aside boxes beneath it before she found what she was looking for; leaflets.

She began sifting through them, tossing them aside until she came across a small, somewhat faded advert for Merlotte's; it looked old, but everything in the place looked fairly old. Elliot could only hope that Sam had never changed the number. It rang...and rang...and rang. Then it went dead.

"_Fuck_." Elliot ran a hand through her hair, sighing angrily before punching in the number again. She pressed it so hard against her ear it was almost painful, the sound of each ring buzzing through her head. It clicked off again after about a minute. So, either Sam was not at Merlotte's and therefore hopefully safe, or he was dead. Elliot's hands went to her hair again and she gripped it for a second, silently demanding to know what the world thought it was doing, laying all this shit on her. Hadn't she been through _enough_?

Apparently not. Elliot jumped, startled, as something smashed terrifyingly close to her and somebody crowed gleefully. She got to her knees, peering over the counter and dropping back down again a nanosecond after she'd gotten a look. There were three men standing _right_ outside the shop she was in, staring inside. Her heart was hammering, bile collecting somewhere at the base of her throat as she hoped to every single star in the sky that they hadn't seen her.

"Hey! Who's that?" one of them demanded and Elliot pressed the heels of her hands hard against her eyes.

"Who?" a different one asked. _ Please be talking about someone else, please be talking about so-_

"Behind the fuckin' counter man, are you _blind_?"

_Shit._ Elliot didn't bother trying to think it through; she just grabbed her purse and burst out from behind the counter, throwing out one hand as she went. Energy flowed like a surging sheet of wind and shelves and products all went flying towards the window but Elliot didn't stop to check the damage, instead bolting through the door that led to the store room and from there disappearing through a door she _hoped_ led to outside but no such luck; it was a bathroom. It did have a window, though, so she counted her blessings and yanked it open, hauling herself onto the edge and forcing her body through as yelling from inside the shop grew louder.

Obviously her act hadn't knocked them out, as she'd hoped; it had simply angered them. _Typical._ She dropped to the ground and took a moment to catch her breath, flighty from adrenaline, and then she took off towards Sookie's house; towards her car and then after that, _freedom_. She was _done_ with crazy.

Elliot wasn't a pro runner by any stretch of the imagination but with adrenaline surging through her veins like fire and, on top of that, burning _anger_ at the entire damned situation she'd managed to find herself in, she made good time. She'd covered enough ground walking before she'd made the phonecalls to be only about half a mile out so it was only a few minutes later she that found the trees surrounding Sookie's house coming into view.

Nobody appeared to be pursuing her so, with the house in shouting distance, Elliot let herself stop, leaning over to plant her hands on her knees to try and sort herself out, breathing hard as she took stock of the situation. She had her purse, which meant she had her keys and cards, so she could at least get away. She _always_ kept a bag of overnight things in her trunk, and her car had had about half a tank of gas when she'd left it. As long as she could make it to the car, she was all set.

Only she did not, of course, make it to her car.

Elliot got close; painfully close. She'd made it all the way up the driveway, frowning in dismay at the vandalism that had become Sookie's house, mouth open in stunned surprise. "What the _fuck_," she muttered to herself, slowing to a halt as she took in the sight. The place was covered in dark, ropey vines, leaves spewing forth from the windows and the cracks around the door, the windows smashed, candles flickering through the broken glass despite the sun overhead, the wooden beams on the porch broken and twisted. The place was wrecked. But none of that was as weird as the massive fucking meat shrine sitting in the front yard, so tall its shadow cast over her car ten feet away, which looked about as wrecked as the house.

She took a hesitant step forwards, grip on her purse so tight her nails were digging crescent moons into her palm, and heard only the swish of air before something hit her hard on the back of the head. Elliot let out a slight gasp of pain before the world cut away and she slumped bonelessly to the ground.

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><p><strong>AN: Woo, late again but an update is an update, right? No Eric in this chapter and probably not in the next one but don't worry; his and Elliot's confrontation will definitely be coming up soon, we've just got a maenad to deal with first because that's always fun!<strong>

**Leave a review if you're feeling particularly friendly and lovely and wonderful (though you are all of those things for reading this, anyway) - I have a five day break coming up [three cheers for ****_that_**** WOOO] so I'm hoping to get the next two chapters posted on here over Easter.**

**The chapter title comes from Avril Lavigne's 'I'm With You' and it's a little lame but I end up spending ages looking for titles and I figured that this wasn't an important chapter that needed a super fitting title so...there. Thanks for reading! **


	37. Don't Get Too Close

**AN: Whooooo boy. How much do you guys hate me? I won't waste your time with a long drawn out apology, I'll just say that I really am so sorry this took so long, I completely lost touch with not only this fic but True Blood in general - somewhere around series 5 I just completely lost interest at where all the plots were going and I just got on a downer with the whole thing, so this fic suffered majorly as a result. That said, I haven't finished series 5 or watched anything of series 6 (I think that's where the show's at, now?) so if I write something that is utterly contradicted somewhere in what I haven't watched, I'm really sorry. I am planning on watching them eventually, I just...not right now, to be honest. The other issue I'm having right now is the fact that I am desperate to go through and re-write this fic but I'm trying to resist the temptation until it's finished. **

**I've also been having trouble working around all the threads and sections that are happening in the show at the point when this chapter takes place, so hopefully things do make sense. The next chapter is well on its way, but I can't promise when it'll be ready because, well - I'm incredibly unreliable! But I will endeavor to have it done soon, I promise you that. **

**Anyway, enough with excuses! I hope there are still some readers out there - if you're still here, thank you so much for sticking with me even though I've been a shitty author. Any feedback you have is massively appreciated and I'm going to try replying to reviews for the previous chapter over the next few weeks.**

**The title is from Demons by Imagine Dragons. **

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><p>Regaining consciousness was a quick thing. One second Elliot's head was hanging, shoulders slumped forwards against the ropes that were holding her tight against a chair, and the next she was staring around with wide eyes and fury on her lips.<p>

"What the fuck is going on?" she demanded, blinking hard and pulling in a deep breath. Her head was throbbing at the base of her skull, sending spiderwebs of black dancing across her vision, but it was receding oddly quickly. She didn't feel even remotely concussed, which was weird but Elliot wasn't about to question it.

There was a tall woman standing in the doorway opposite her, lounging against the frame with a smug smile hanging all over her lips. "You're in my world now, sweet," she said smoothly, walking forwards and bending a little to look her captive in the eye. Elliot scowled, trying to shift backwards as the woman extended a finger, trailing it down one cheek in a mockingly gentle caress.

"Get the _fuck_ away from me," she bit out furiously, feet skittering on the floor of what she realised was, or used to be, Sookie's living room. "What have you _done_? Jesus _Christ._" The woman had straightened abruptly, was staring at her with widened eyes and lips parted with shock. She jabbed two fingers against Elliot's forehead and Elliot pushed out with her mind, furious and tired and hurting and _done_.

The woman staggered backwards but she didn't fall, only gaped at Elliot with undisguised surprise for a single second before her expression had wiped clean. "Oh, _wow_," she breathed, coming closer again and there was a flash of something dark behind her eyes now, something Elliot really didn't want to have to deal with. "Where did _you_ come from?"

"Town," Elliot ground out. "I want my car, and I want you to leave me the fuck alone, and I want to get the fuck out of here." She pulled in her shoulders, trying to loosen her wrists but they were knotted too tightly; the only way she was getting out of this was if she suddenly became very handy at using a knife with her backside.

"Leave you _alone_?" the woman repeated with a tittering of high-pitched laughter that sent Elliot's skin crawling. "A precious thing like you? _Darling_. No." She drifted closer but this time Elliot shoved out with energy before she got close enough to touch and the woman fell back again. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Elliot registered that it was too easy to control, too easy to grasp and push and twist the energy. She was used to blasting out with it without meaning to, was now also used to manipulating small things and guiding them with a fierce concentration, but this was far, far too easy.

Elliot blinked, turning her focus inward, checking herself over. Even in just the short time she'd been awake, her head had stopped hurting entirely. She could feel the discomfort of slowly drying blood at the back of her neck, but other than that there was no pain to tell that she'd just been knocked out cold by a hard blow to the skull. The waves of energy she'd let out hadn't tired her, either; she'd pushed out in the shop before running here and pushed twice more at the woman but there was no nagging drain at the back of her mind.

Grasping for it once again, Elliot looked sharply at the woman and shoved against her with a single-minded fury and this time she went staggering backwards, far enough to fall. It only made her laugh but Elliot still wasn't tiring and she felt...she felt almost _godlike_. As the final lingering effects of waking up disappeared she became slowly aware of the things around her, the strands in the ropes that bound her, the knots in the wooden legs of the chair she was sitting on. She could feel the door behind her, the windows and the flickering candles, could feel the shape of the woman as she climbed to her feet, pressing against the air with her own energy. That was bad; whatever the woman was, it wasn't normal. Elliot could feel her presence pulsating in the air around her like a mass of storm clouds, stinging with thunder and swollen with rain; blackness and insanity and pure, nothing-else-matters motive.

"How are you doing that?" the woman questioned with an eager curiosity, stalking closer again and stopping just short of arm's reach. Elliot didn't bother trying to shove her back again; while she didn't appear to be getting tired, she was sure she would eventually and the woman didn't seem in the least bothered by being thrown about. More than that, though, a sick, curling dread had awoken in her stomach, coupled with an intense sort of hurt that had her jerking forwards a little, wondering if her chest was about to collapse in on itself. She knew the feeling, knew it well; it had haunted her for a long, long time, had never really stopped; _grief_. More specifically, Eric's grief. He must be awake, would realise soon that Elliot was absent, would come looking her for, would _find_ her and she wasn't ready to deal with him, didn't have the strength to demand that he leave her alone, not when she still wanted him close. Not when she wasn't really sure within herself why she was angry at him, not at the bones of it. Not when she knew that if she saw him all the hard work she'd put into running would be scattered like ashes on the wind, because she didn't _want_ to leave him, she was just too scared to stay.

"How are you _doing_ that?" the woman repeated, stalking closer.

"No idea," Elliot said, quite honestly dragging herself upright. _Panic_. _Fear_. Emotions that were familiar to Elliot, the most familiar, and yet they were strangers to her blood, not borne of her own self but from Eric, his blood, his emotion. It was hard to untangle them from her own, hard to make herself realise that she wasn't panicking, that her heart didn't need to start pounding painfully against her ribs - it was Eric's panic, but her body was reacting to it before she could stop it. "I guess I'm just really, really _done_ with this fucking crazy town." _Never_ trust a small town. _Never_. She should have known that it looked _too_ innocent, _too _quiet, the people just _too_ friendly to be quite normal.

"Oh no," the woman said, walking a lazy circle around the chair Elliot was bound to, trailing one manicured hand over the wooden back and her captive's shoulders as she did so. "It's in your _blood_. I can smell it - I can _taste_ it, I just want to..." She cut herself off, fingers digging almost painfully into Elliot's shoulders as she heaved in a deep breath and her energy hummed malevolently.

Not waiting to see exactly what it was she was trying to do, Elliot shoved out with her own energy again, too freaked out to do anything else. The woman fell back, her hands coming away and leaving Elliot free to struggle against the ropes, more desperate than ever to get away because it sounded almost like the woman wanted to fucking _eat _her or something equally horrible and she was running out of _time_, Eric's initial spike of worry settling into something that felt more like furious determination.

"Maryann? We got the organs!"

And wasn't _that _a sentence that should never be uttered with that amount of cheer. A guy Elliot had seen in Merlotte's with Tara came barrelling into the room with bloodied hands, grinning in a detached sort of way, eyes shining black as he turned his head to take in the sight before him.

"Oh, fan_tastic_!" the woman - Maryann, apparently - purred, forgetting about Elliot and moving towards the door, leading the guy back out and leaving the room empty but for the woman tied to the chair.

"I'll just wait here, then," Elliot muttered to herself, pushing her shoulders back again to try and work her wrists loose but having no more luck than she had before. She leaned as far as she could to the side to try and see where Maryann and her organ collector had gone but the hallway was empty, the open door leading out onto the porch showing her nothing but the gathering darkness outside.

Having asserted that she was alone, Elliot settled back against the chair and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure how the blood bond worked, but she tried hard to send a kind of _shut the fuck up for a moment_ feeling towards Eric; it was hard to concentrate with him swirling around inside her. Elliot pulled in a deep breath, closed her eyes, focused. She pushed emotion away - hers and Eric's, sealed it off, thought about the ropes. Thick, wound tight, old. Probably from Sookie's shed. Not the strongest, but strong enough. Elliot sought deeper, picking the strands apart inside her head, willing them to fray and snap as she worked to peel them apart, gratified to feel that the bonds were loosening as she worked on them.

How long it took, she didn't know, but by the time Elliot's hands were free and she was looking up, the sky outside was dark enough that Eric could most certainly leave the hotel, and she felt a little dizzy from focusing so hard.

"Tara? TARA?" A screech from the hallway had her jumping so hard she banged into the chair behind her before the voice registered as familiar.

"_Sookie_?" Elliot burst out before she could stop herself, moving towards the door. There was a murmur of surprise, quick footsteps and then the blonde was hurrying towards her, Bill looming over the telepath's shoulder with his eyebrows slightly arched (which was about as close to _fucking alarmed_ as he got).

"Elliot? What happened? What are you doing here?"

"We have to get out of here, there's this woman, she's fucking _crazy_ Sook, there's a meat statue thing in your front yard and she's...I don't know what she is, she's not human," Elliot said quickly, her words almost stumbling over each other in her haste to get them all out before Maryann reappeared. Sookie was staring in dismay at the living room, shock written plainly over her features when her cell rang and she jumped.

"We need to leave," Bill said in the kind of voice that invited no argument, turning to stare imploringly at Sookie.

"Be right there," the blonde said into her phone with her eyes on the vampire, snapping it shut without another word and reaching for Elliot and Bill. "C'mon!"

"Is Tara okay?" Elliot asked as she started towards the door, stopping a second before she crashed into Bill and staggering back a step, staring wide-eyed at Maryann, suddenly very glad that they had the vampire with them. Fear lanced through her, quickly echoed by a burst of worry that she assumed was Eric's response. Elliot forced herself to calm down, willing Eric's emotions to leave her alone for a damn _minute_ while she tried to think straight.

"_What_ are you doing in my house?" The words were spoken with icy fury coupled with a terrifyingly calm expression that made Elliot's spine want to curl back on itself.

"This is _not_ your house," Sookie snarled in reply, ignoring the warning touch Bill pressed against her wrist and _shit_ did the woman _want_ to get them all killed?

"It is now," Marayann smirked, pacing a step closer so everyone moved backwards, further into the room and away from the exit. Elliot scanned their surroundings, noting the wooden frames still in the glassless windows and wondering how easy they would be to break; they were the only other way out of the room.

Bill pushed ahead of Sookie, moving her behind him with a sweep of his arm that pushed her into Elliot's side. "I strongly suggest you remove yourself immediately," he said loudly, and though Elliot couldn't see she was sure he'd clicked his fangs into place, shoulders high and aggressive as he towered at the imposter. If it came to a fight, Elliot had no idea who would win; normally she'd place all bets on a vampire, but Maryann was an unknown entity and her energy swirled around her like a brewing storm, like nothing Elliot had ever felt before. It screamed _dangerous_ more than fangs ever had, or could ever hope to; the only sensible option that could possibly exist in the face of such a creature was to run but the one they had was to fight.

"My, you found yourself _quite_ the specimen," Maryann commented as she looked Bill up and down, utterly unmoved by the threat Elliot had hoped he presented to her. "Though," she added, "I daresay there's nothing stopping him from one day leaving you cold."

"You don't scare me." Sookie's words had barely left her mouth before Maryann had her by the throat and her back had hit the wall and Elliot and Bill both jumped at once. Elliot's hand was outstretched, her power half called to the surface but Bill was faster, leaping forwards and wrenching Maryann away with a grunt.

"Go now!" he ordered, bearing down and biting furiously and for one moment Elliot thought that might be it, that it would all end just like that, but then Maryann clutched at Bill's neck, pulling him closer as though they were lovers.

_"Yes_!" she cried out, her back arching. "Ravage me! _Ravage me_!"

Bill threw himself backwards, spluttering blackness and retching before he almost collapsed to his knees, Elliot and Sookie grabbing him at once. This time, the worry and the fear was entirely Elliot's; could vampires be poisoned?

"Bill?! What did you _do_ to him?" Sookie demanded, voice high in her panic and almost drowned out by the maniacal laughter ringing through the room. Elliot fell to her knees as Bill's legs gave out, dragging her down with him as Sookie rounded on Maryann as though any of them were a match for her.

"What _are_ you?" the woman questioned with the same delightful curiosity she had spoken to Elliot with earlier, stalking towards Sookie with an unnatural light in her eyes.

"None of your _business_!" Sookie yelled, throwing out her arm. A blinding flash of light cracked through the room and Maryann was tossed backwards, dazed enough to give Sookie a chance to grab Bill, she and Elliot heaving him to his feet and supporting him to the door as Maryann collapsed into hysterical laughter behind them.

Bill spewed more black blood across the gravel as they hurried to the still-running car the two had arrived in, coughing like his lungs were coming out. "Stay with him," Elliot directed, yanking open the back door and bundling him inside, Sookie climbing in after and pressing her hands gently against his neck, saying his name over and over as Elliot clambered into the front and slammed the door.

She shoved the car into reverse and twisted to look over her shoulder before racing down the driveway at breakneck speed, skidding a little as she turned roughly at the bottom and powered away. "Where to?" she asked, her voice too loud as she overcompensated for how scared she was, trying to pump her tone full of confidence instead of terror and missing the mark by enough to be obvious. Sookie didn't comment, just stared at Bill for a minute before her eyes met Elliot's in the rearview mirror.

"Lafayette's," she replied after a beat. "He has Tara there, they might know what's going on - _Bill_? Bill!" Sookie's calmness was washed away as the vampire leaned out the window, choking on black bile and blood, spitting it out into the road and shuddering enough that Elliot could feel it against the back of her seat.

"I'm alright," Bill said weakly, the car creaking a little as he leaned back.

"No you are _not_ alright," Sookie snapped, and as Elliot cast a glance at Bill in the mirror she couldn't help but agree with the blonde; her vampire looked about as close to dying as something already dead could get, lips black, eyes hooded, shoulders hunched. He looked like shit. "None of this is alright, I'm calling Eric," Sookie said forcefully.

"NO!" The car swerved right into the other lane as Elliot swung around to stare wild-eyed at Sookie and she righted them hastily, heart pounding. "We can't call Eric."

"I will _not_ turn to Eric," Bill hissed, wrenching himself upright as though he could fool them both that he was fine by doing so. He probably _did_ need Eric; the guy had lived for a thousand years, he'd probably know what was going on, but Elliot was selfish enough to not care about that as much as she cared about _not_ seeing the blond vampire for as long as humanly possible.

"I've got to get you to Doctor Ludwig," Sookie said helplessly, looking back and forth between Bill and Elliot as though expecting one of them to suddenly decide that yes, they wanted Eric to come and save the day. Neither of them did.

"He's probably on his way anyway," Elliot said grudgingly. She didn't think the Viking was going to let it slide that she'd run out on him, especially given the fact that her fear had undoubtedly given away the fact that something wasn't right.

Silence reigned for a moment and Bill gulped down breaths of the cool air rushing in the open window, settling back against the seat, apparently done with vomiting for the moment. "What happened back there?" he questioned instead of replying to Sookie. "What did you do to her?"

"Yeah, kinda wondering that myself," Elliot added, eyes flicking to the blonde. "What the _fuck_, you suddenly turned into like, Thor or something."

"I don't know, I swear," Sookie admitted, shaking her head and sounding about as worried by that fact as Elliot herself was. "It was Maryann that attacked me in the woods - even though I don't have a scar, I could feel her there on my back when she was touching me - turn right, here."

"There's something weird about her - like, beyond the whole meat shrine, vandalism shit," Elliot said, turning right without bothering to use the turn signal; the roads were so quiet it was entirely unnecessary. "I could feel her, I don't know, _energy_ or something, like how I can feel mine, I guess? Only hers was _black_, it felt just _wrong_ - she's not human, not even close. Nothing I've ever come across before."

"Nor me," Bill put in, his voice a low growl. "I will kill her."

"Good," Sookie said, unexpectedly vicious. "How?"

"Tara has been under Maryann's influence - maybe she can be of some help to us," Bill suggested, glancing out the windshield at the dark roads ahead of them, outlining in shadow the way to Lafayette's house. "Give me your wrist so I can heal."

Elliot reached out for the radio at that, not particularly wanting to listen to Bill sucking the blood out of his girlfriend because it was kind of gross but mostly because it made her think of Eric and Eric's blood and _her drinking it_ and holy shit her escape had _so_ not gone according to plan. She didn't know why she was surprised; nothing in her life ever _did_.


	38. I Think This Might Be It For Us

_I think I've finally had enough,_

_I think I maybe think too much_

_I think this might be it for us_

_(blow me one last kiss)_

* * *

><p>Elliot slammed the car to a screeching halt, gravel churning restlessly beneath the wheels as the brakes squealed. Bill had opened the door and shot out of sight before Elliot had so much as cut the engine and she turned in surprise, frowning after him through the open back door. "What's up with him?" she asked Sookie, who just shook her head and clambered out to follow. With a slight sigh, Elliot killed the power and closed her eyes, settling back against her seat in weary exhaustion. Eric was on his way, and Elliot wasn't fool enough to think she could outrun him now.<p>

Instead, she opened her own door and slipped out, stretching languidly for a moment as she relished the absence of ropes and the unyielding chair which had been her companions for a while now. Then she knocked the door closed with her boot and set off after Sookie, trailing awkwardly up the steps to what she assumed was Lafayette's house and hovering in the doorway. She'd never met the man before, but she knew he was supposed to be part of the road crew she technically worked with, though Elliot wasn't sure if her boss would remain lenient with her absence for very long so it could very well be that she no longer worked with them.

His house was...unusual. Elliot's gaze swept across what she could see, taking in cloths and blankets and statues and mirrors; the place seemed exotic, but it had the feel of a cosy sort of hideaway. Colour assaulted her from every direction, but she didn't mind. Tara was tied to a chair in the centre of the room, her eyes the same dead black as the minions back at Sookie's house had been, and Elliot grimaced despite herself.

She took a slight step back, fumbling in her pockets for a cigarette before realising they were in her purse, and that was somewhere in Sookie's yard. Wordlessly, Lafayette offered her one and Elliot took it gratefully, pursing her lips over the end as he lit it for her as well. "Thanks," she breathed in relief, stepping back again so she was standing on the other side of the door and not blowing smoke at the room's inhabitants.

"Don't mention it," Lafayette said, worried eyes still fixed on Tara. He stepped out of Elliot's view for a moment and reappeared again a second later with a glass of wine in his hand which he held out to her. His dark eyes drifted up to meet hers and though it wasn't a smile, there was a small crease at the edge of his mouth. "I think we _all_ seen enough crazy shit that it's necessary about now."

Elliot hesitated for a moment, eyeing the dark liquid and trying to ignore the knot that formed in her stomach. It looked a little too much like blood for comfort, but seeming without her say-so her fingers were wrapping around the glass and she tipped a nod of thanks before Lafayette returned to those in the room. Elliot placed her back to whatever weird shit was going on in there; it wasn't her business. She drew deeply on the cigarette - it tasted different to the ones she usually bought and she half suspected there was something in it that probably shouldn't be, but it wasn't too bad - and swirled the wine in the glass for a moment, considering. She couldn't even remember the last time she'd drank alcohol, but today had been one hell of a day. Elliot tipped the glass to her lips and took a long sip, relishing the richly bitter taste as it went down.

She hopped down the steps and set to pacing back and forth across the lawn, vaguely tracking in the back of her mind that Eric was getting closer and closer each second; he'd be here soon, and Elliot had no doubts that he'd come straight to her to...she wasn't sure what, exactly. Only knew that whatever it was, she didn't want to face it right now. Not that Eric had ever given her much of a choice in such matters.

Elliot drank the rest of the wine in one go and set the glass aside, replacing it with her cigarette as soon as it had left her lips. What an upstanding member of the community she was, she reflected wryly, turning as Sookie appeared in a flurry of nervous energy and blonde hair.

"How's Tara?" Elliot asked at once, jumping up the steps and following Sookie down the incline towards the end of the porch.

"Back," the waitress replied, turning to Elliot and worrying at her lip, eyes flashing beyond her as Bill appeared at Elliot's shoulder, slipping around her to stand at Sookie's side. "It's weird. I've known Tara my whole life and every trace of her was _gone_. Replaced. And here I thought vampires were the only ones who could hypnotise people," she added, with a faintly accusing look towards the only vampire present.

"No offense but humans are shockingly susceptible to just about every form of thought manipulation," Bill told her, eyes skirting worriedly towards Elliot as the air crackled for an instant.

"Sorry," she said hastily, reining the energy back in towards herself, barely noticing how easy it was as she looked at Bill. "Just pisses me off that apparently every mythical predator on Earth reckons it's got the God-given right to fuck around in peoples' heads." At least, she consoled herself, she appeared to be immune to them. So far, at least.

"It's all coming from Maryann, all of it. They _eat_ peoples' hearts. But she wants more. She wants their souls. And that chant?"

Bill and Elliot both shot the waitress identical questioning looks. "Chant?" Bill repeated.

Sookie nodded and Elliot frowned slightly as she started talking in some language she assumed was Latin; it was the only one that would sound so utterly foreign, surely. Whatever it was, Elliot wasn't any more enlightened than she had been a moment ago, but Bill was frowning knowingly.

"I read about some ancient creatures many years ago, but I always assumed it was just a myth," he told them both, looking thoughtful. "I think Maryann may be one of them."

Elliot shrugged. "I thought you guys were just shit for horny teenagers 'til a few years back. Things change. What is she, then?"

"And more importantly, how do we kill her?" Sookie tacked on immediately

"I do not know how to defeat her," Bill admitted. "But I know one vampire who might. _Might_." He gave Sookie a very serious look, the sort that made Elliot wonder if her powers had suddenly evolved to include invisibility or something because it was very much like the world didn't exist beyond the waitress. "If I'm going to make it by daylight I must leave now."

"Let's go," Sookie chirped, motioning behind her towards the cars, but Bill was already shaking his head.

"I must do this alone, but I'll be back by morning." He looked across at Elliot for a second before his gaze settled on Sookie again. "You can do more good here."

Sookie didn't even argue. "You're right; I left everybody before and look what happened."

Elliot snorted, taking one last drag on the cigarette before she tossed it away and crushed the butt with her boot. She was feeling faintly light-headed, though she wasn't sure if that was the wine on an empty stomach, the cigarette, or just the shitty day in general. "No offense, Sook, but I don't think the place fell apart 'cause you left. More like this town is just batshit fucking crazy." Which would have been nice to know _before_ she moved in, but whatever.

Bill and Sookie leant a little closer together and Elliot drifted away again, running her hands through the vines that were wrapping around the edges of the porch until she'd heard the rush of displaced air that meant the vampire was gone. She turned around and sucked in a deep breath, meeting Sookie's gaze. "I need to go home," Elliot told her. "Eric's coming - he'll be here soon and I'd rather not drag you guys into...whatever it is that's happening with us." She also didn't want to have whatever argument she was about to have in front of people who'd remember it later, but she didn't voice that.

The blonde nodded as though she'd expected as much. "Take the car we came in," she directed, jerking her head at it. "We won't be needing it tonight, anyway. But go straight home, okay? I'm going to stay here tonight with Tara and Lafayette and when Bill gets back we'll know how to beat this bitch. Until then I think we'd better all just keep our heads down."

Elliot nodded in agreement. "'Course. My cell's back at your place, I might have an old one stashed somewhere so if you see an unknown number calling you, it's probably me."

Sookie jerked a little as though she was about to hug Elliot and stopped herself at the last minute. "Just...stay safe," she sighed after a moment. "If Eric's with you, you should be fine but be careful anyway."

Elliot didn't bother to tell the waitress that she didn't plan on letting Eric stick around for very long, nor that she wasn't overly keen on the idea of relying on him _again_ when he'd let them down so appallingly last time she'd been hoping he'd come to the rescue. She just nodded again and fished in her pockets for the keys. "Let me know what Bill says," she told Sookie as she started towards the car, looking back over her shoulder. "Call me if you need _anything_ - you can always crash at my place if things go south here."

"Stay _safe_," Sookie said loudly, moving towards Lafayette's front door. "Good luck with Eric."

Elliot snorted but lifted a hand to acknowledge the other's words, ducking into the car. As if luck had ever helped her. The drive back was strangely uneventful, considering the mess the town was in; it seemed like everyone was camped over at Sookie's for the night, because the streets were deserted but for broken glass, old spray paint bottles and the odd item of discarded clothing.

Thankfully it was only a short journey to get home; Elliot could feel that Eric was close now and it was making her nervous, her heart pounding erratically as she pulled up in her own driveway and got out. She had time to run around the back and work her way in by way of the bust kitchen window she was yet to have fixed but her nerves felt electrified and she was certain that Eric must've reached Bon Temps by now.

Elliot yanked open a few drawers in the living room and wrapped her fingers around an old carton of cigarettes, slipping one out before thinking better of it and stuffing the little box into her pocket. She looked around for a lighter for a moment before an idea struck her and Elliot paused, lifting her hand as though to pinch the end of the cigarette before she breathed out through her nose and focused.

A tiny burst of flame flickered into life between her fingertips, igniting the end, and Elliot couldn't help but grin slightly. She wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but something had changed. This was..._easy_. It was easy now. She opened the front door and stepped outside, pulling it to behind her but not closing it before she settled on the steps.

She didn't have to wait long. There was nothing to precede Eric's arrival but the sudden fluttering behind Elliot's ribs and the sense of utter conviction that he was close, a bone-deep craving to be near him and, dim beneath it, her own residual anger and guilt. He landed silently on the lawn in front of her, and Elliot got to her feet, features lit by the burning orange of her cigarette until she clamped shaking fingers around it and tossed it aside.

Neither of them spoke for a long moment, though Elliot could feel his relief, his anger, his sorrow, his guilt; they weren't showing on his face, but that didn't make a difference any more. She wasn't prepared for how desperately she wanted to just hold onto him, press her face against his neck and wind her fingers into his jacket, to fully appreciate his nearness and just _him_. She wasn't prepared for all of that to wipe away, quite suddenly, everything else, or how hard it would be to keep herself rooted to the spot instead of running to him. She'd been prepared for anger, to yell at him as he yelled at her, to scream at him how angry and hurt she was, how much she really _fucking_ hated him and at the same time didn't ever want to leave. It was clear now, watching him, standing there as her blood sang the song of him, that she wouldn't be able to run. She couldn't. And she wanted to be angry about that as well, but it was hard to remind herself of that amidst everything else.

"What have you done to me?" she whispered eventually, looking down at her hands as though the answers would be written on her palms. They weren't; there were no answers. They were still asking the questions.

"It will get easier," Eric replied lowly. He hadn't moved from where he'd landed, leaving a good ten feet of space between them. "It was that or let you die, and I'm afraid the latter was never an option."

Elliot's head jerked up and she found her anger, grabbing hold of it and drinking it in, using it to douse the flames of everything else, using it to drown Eric's emotions and everything that his blood was making her feel so she could just be _herself_ for a moment. "Are you even sorry?" she demanded harshly, her voice ringing through the empty night but there was only Eric to hear. "Because this is what you wanted all along, isn't it Eric? You tried to get me to drink your blood just after we first met and I fucking _refused_, okay? I did that for a _reason_ Eric; I don't _want_ this!"

"Well you have it," he snapped, but his angry words couldn't hide the fact that Elliot could feel the coil of hurt he was struggling to suppress and she felt a stab of savage pleasure that she could feel him. Unwanted as that particular talent was, she knew he wouldn't want her to know what he was feeling; there, at least, they were on even footing. "I didn't have a choice, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant saving your life."

"That's _not_ your decision to make!" Elliot shrieked, balling her hands into fists and gasping in a furious breath. "It's _my_ life and _you_ don't get to decide when the fuck it ends, do you understand?"

Eric was glaring at her, his worry clouding over now with anger of his own, edged with black grief that he was helpless to try and hide from Elliot; he couldn't even hide it from himself. "You _left_ me," he growled, unable to help himself. His words were unsteady, low and rough where they came through his teeth and from somewhere within his grief, an accusation he hadn't meant to make but it was true all the same. "Godric's _dead_."

Elliot knew, of course. She knew he was dead, knew she'd ran out on Eric at the one moment when he'd needed her, something he could never admit, not even to himself, but he'd thought she might know anyway. The stab of pain he felt with the words was enough to make Elliot's shoulders hunch a little and she turned away, running her hands roughly over her face to try and stop them from shaking, to try and block out the world.

The grief wasn't hers but the emotion was familiar and it dragged up old memories; their old blue car, her mother's sweet smile and her father's joking laughter, their worried phone calls when Elliot had grown isolated with Michael, old birthday cakes and bike rides, bedtime stories and new houses and a phone call from someone official-sounding, telling her it was all over; they were gone, dead. Elliot was shaking, keeping herself turned deliberately away from Eric as she fought for control over her warring emotions, making her voice lower to try and keep it even. "I had to." She forced herself to straighten, dropped her hands and breathed deeply before she turned back to him. "After everything. I didn't have a choice."

"You did," he said roughly. "You _chose_ to run away. To leave. Don't pretend it was anything other than that, Elliot - you owe me _that_ at least."

"I don't _owe_ you _anything_!" she practically screeched as her anger reignited. "Don't you talk about me having a fucking _choice_, Eric, not after what you did."

Eric's eyes went dangerously narrow, the only hint of his anger that showed on his face but Elliot could feel the fury that was burning in his blood; he couldn't hide from her any more than she could hide from him. "I saved your _life_," he bit out through clenched teeth.

"Yeah, and for what?" Elliot retorted. "At what cost, Eric? I can _feel_ you, okay. You can feel _me_ - I never _wanted_ this and you _took_ that choice away from me." Her voice was getting dangerously high now, a few of her words trembling as emotion stole away her control.

"You'd rather I let you _die_?" Eric demanded harshly. "You're being an idiot, Elliot, you should be _thanking_ me."

"Thanking you?" Elliot choked out with a high, near hysterical laugh. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Eric. Thank you so fucking _much_ for all this shit. Thanks for taking me to Dallas and letting me rot away in that fucking cellar without bothering to come looking for me. Thanks for _giving up_. Thanks for feeding me your blood without _asking_ me, without - without _anything_, you just fucking _did_ it and now _I_ have to live with it!"

"I have to live with it too," he hissed at her, the quiet words somehow carrying over the distance they'd both kept between them. "I did it for _you_."

Elliot shook her head and let out a disbelieving huff of breath. "You honestly think that makes it okay?"

"I think that makes it forgivable."

She was silenced by that, not sure how to respond. Because she was angry but she _could_ understand, in the part of her she didn't want to listen to yet, that she maybe _should_ be thanking him. But then she wondered if that was really her thinking that and fury that she didn't _know_, that it was Eric's fault she didn't, took over again.

"You've fucked _everything_ up," she told him shakily, trying to keep her voice angry because otherwise she thought she might just dissolve into tears.

Eric shook his head, forcibly calming himself. "Is this it, then?" he demanded, his voice oddly detached for a moment. "You are mad at me because I _saved_ you?"

"No, Eric," Elliot found herself shouting at him, taking two steps closer before she halted so suddenly it was like she'd hit something. "No I'm not mad at you because you saved me, I'm mad because you wouldn't save your-fucking-_self_!" The words had spilled forth without prior thought, without meaning, but Elliot couldn't deny the truth of them, not when speaking them thrummed against a deep chord of hurt she hadn't even realised she'd been harbouring, hurt that almost brought her to her knees.

Because that was it, at the bones of it; Eric was the one holding the cards, Eric made the choices and threw the chips and played the hand, Eric made the decisions and when it came to it, he refused to let her go at a huge cost to _her_, but he'd been prepared to leave her behind without a second thought. And it _hurt_.

Eric looked stunned at her furious declaration and she could feel his guilt more keenly now, threaded through with a number of other emotions she couldn't separate and define. He was watching her with what could only be called shock across his features and then, slowly, realisation. She watched it on his face and felt it twine together inside her; understanding of what had happened back at the Fellowship, understanding of the terrible anger and hurt sharpening Elliot's blood so much that he thought it might sting to taste it.

When he didn't say anything, Elliot shook her head, gathering up her anger and layering it around her like a shield, like armour. "It's okay for me to watch _you_ die when you offered yourself up to that fucking psycho and I couldn't do anything. It's okay for me to watch you burn because you decided for once in your fucking life to be _noble_. You were _fine_ for me to watch that but when it's turned around, _you_ don't have a choice? Don't bullshit me, don't you say you didn't have a choice Eric, don't you _dare_ say that because you _had_ a fucking choice and you _chose_ to leave me behind, you chose to let me _watch_ when the sun rose and turned you to fucking _ash_-"

"And then you _ran_ _away_ from me!" Eric said, too loudly, the cracks in his composure becoming more evident by the second.

"I ran because I fucking _care_!" Elliot yelled at him, pushing herself through the distance between them and smacking him hard in the chest, hard enough that if he hadn't allowed himself to sway with the motion she'd probably have broken her wrists. "I care, okay? I fucking _care_ and you _don't_ because you didn't give a flying _fuck_ about leaving me the hell behind so I got the fuck out of there because it _scares_ me, okay? I'm not _supposed_ to care, I haven't cared about anyone for so fucking _long_ because the _last_ person _I_ cared about-"

She cut herself off, spinning away from Eric and clamping her hands over her mouth to bite down on the sob that threatened to jump through her lips, shuddering with the effort of trying to keep everything back, hating herself as she felt the wetness on her cheeks. She clamped down harder, almost doubling over on herself before she straightened and let out a long, shaky breath. Her teeth were chattering, though she wasn't particularly cold. She remained facing away from Eric, kept her arms wrapped around herself as though she was afraid to let go.

He didn't move, but Elliot could feel something almost akin to relaxing inside her blood, a tangible relief coupled with something brighter, fainter. Something she couldn't put a name to. "You...care?" Eric repeated, very quietly and very carefully. "About me?"

"Yes," she hissed. "Yes of course I fucking do. Always the wrong guy, isn't it? And do you know what's priceless?" Elliot asked, spinning on her heel to glare at him. "Do you wanna know what the absolute _best_ part is? I didn't even _realise_ until they tied you down on that goddamn altar and I almost fucking _broke_ at the idea of you being _gone_. That's not supposed to happen, okay? It was never supposed to happen and then _you_ fucked it all up by being _you_."

He was still staring at her and a silence fell after her outburst. For a long moment Elliot considered just turning around and going inside, slamming the door in his face and sobbing her heart out in the safety of her own bedroom, but she couldn't just leave this. Instead she stared at him and he stared at her and they remained silent for a long, long time until he sighed.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah," Elliot said harshly, because that was easier than anything else. "Yeah me too." Sorry for this whole mess, sorry she'd ever met him, sorry it had come to this, sorry it had happened this way, sorry for what would happen next.

"I didn't..." He shook his head, turning away from her and pacing a few strides along the lawn, methodically trying to shut off the emotions that were threatening to overwhelm him, emotions he had forgotten existed outside of the realm of mere words, emotions that one human had managed to call to the surface and he hadn't realised until it was far, far too late. "I didn't think about what it would be like for you to see that," Eric said after a while, still with his back to her. "I wasn't thinking about anything but Godric." He turned around then, the name opening a new wave of sorrow but he walked towards her without showing any outward sign of it. "I didn't think I could live with myself, if he were gone."

Elliot swallowed, because she knew that feeling, that helplessness, that empty drifting where you wondered _what_? What could possibly come next? What could there possibly be to do that might fill that hole? And truthfully she didn't think anything ever would, not the hole inside her where her parents used to be, but it had changed everything. She was free, now, standing here with this vampire, in front of her own house, with a life she thought she might be able to enjoy one day. It wasn't as hopeless as it had once been, she wasn't lost like she was back then. It was still hard, and it still hurt, but she was still standing.

Eric nodded slowly, as though the thoughts that had been tumbling through Elliot's mind in the moments of silence were all the answers he'd been looking for. "He _is_ gone," he said, needlessly; Elliot suspected it was more for his benefit than hers. "And I'm...still here."

She looked up to meet his gaze at that but she didn't say anything. Eric moved closer, slowly, giving her the option to turn away from him if she wanted. She didn't.

"With you," he said slowly. "That's what Godric meant." He was close enough now that Elliot thought if she took in a deep breath their chests would touch, but she hardly felt like she was breathing at all. Eric was looking down at her, holding her gaze and his expression softened slightly. "I'm sorry," he said seriously. "I'm sorry for hurting you, for not asking. But I'm not sorry you're still here. Don't ever ask me to be sorry for that."

Elliot nodded, biting down on her lip as she forced herself not to look away, focusing intently because her eyes were beginning to sting. "I won't," she said quietly, her voice wrecked. "I'm sorry I left."

"Elliot," Eric said, shaking his head slowly and the first hint of a smile playing at his lips. "I always knew you were a flight risk. I don't mind, as long as you come back."

Which was true, she supposed; he'd caught her when she was running before, erected barricades and then given her a reason to stop running, whether he'd known it or not. There had never been any mistaking, however, that she ran, that she always would. And, she thought, maybe it didn't matter; maybe it was okay to run, if you planned on coming back. Maybe it was okay to leave people and places behind if you counted your steps and then counted them right back to them. Maybe it was okay to forgive Eric for what he'd done, and maybe it was okay to start caring again. Maybe it was okay to change.

She just smiled, and Eric leaned down to close the space between them so she didn't have to.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Can this be...an update? Already? But Maisie, it hasn't been six months yet! I know, I know - I'm turning over a new leaf or something, it feels strange. Hopefully I can keep it up. The title for this chapter came from P!nk's 'Blow Me (One Last Kiss)' which is so perfect I can't even with that woman and her songs. <strong>

**I have a very clear image in my head of an upcoming scene where we will finally meet a certain someone who has haunted this _entire_ fic so - look out for him because it's not long now! (cue dramatic music)**

**I really hope you guys liked this and the confrontation (_finally_ it happened!) didn't fall flat or was completely crap or something - let me know what you thought? I am desperate for feedback on this chapter in particular so if you're feeling helpful and lovely (even more lovely than you obviously are for reading this in the first place, of course) then dropping me a review would 100% place you riiiight at the top of my list of favourite people.**


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